On December, 16th, the district administrative court of Kiev started consideration of the claim of a group of citizens to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine with requirement to include in the curriculum together with the theory of Darwin about origin of a man (evolution), the theory of creationism, asserting that the Earth and all life on it is created by God.
On it informs RISU referring to Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper.
The claim “About recognition as wrongful decisions and actions of the central executive office of the government concerning infringement of constitutional laws of the child in the sphere of obligatory education" was submitted to District Administrative Court of Kiev on October, 21st.
As the newspaper writes, its authors are parents of students from Lvov, Kharkov and Drogobych (eight persons).
Claimants assert that studying at schools of exclusively materialistic theory of Charles Darvin breaks article No 23 of the Constitution of Ukraine in which, in particular, it is stated, “that each person has right for free development of his personality”. Thus in the article 22 it is stated that “constitutional laws and freedoms are guaranteed and cannot be cancelled”.
Authors of the claim consider that uncontested teaching of the theory of Darwin contradicts the Law of Ukraine “About the general secondary education" which fixes that “the general secondary education is directed on maintenance of all-around development of a person”, and among educational problems defines “realisation of the right of students (pupils) on free education... of world outlook beliefs”.
They insist on high-grade consideration during educational process at least of two concepts of origin of the life and lifeless worlds: “a reasonable plan” – the so-called theory of creationism, asserting that the Earth and all life on it was created by God, and also naturalistic (the theory of evolution of Darwin), and suggest to bring respective alterations in school textbooks on physics, astronomy, geography, biology and natural study for 7-12 forms.
According to Kommersant-Ukraine, on Wednesday the court still did not start legal investigation of the case. Having listened to positions of the parties, it transferred session for December, 21st. As in a boardroom of the District Administrative Court of Kiev there were no enough places, the case was considered in the closed mode.
"We are not against that students knew about Darvinism, but why only about it? Why everyone is taught that the man origins from a monkey?", one of the authors of the claim, Vladimir Eremenko, states.
Double standards
The deputy chief of the juristic department of the Ministry of Education Victor Nogin representing in the court the party of the respondent, explained position of the department in such a way, “First of all, Ukraine is a secular state, secondly, the question is not in the textbooks, but in the outlook. Nobody convinces children of schools that there is no God or that He exists. In educational institutions is taught the unique proved theory. In any case the question of faith is the issue of family education. If parents and a child wish to believe, they will, disregarding the content of textbooks. And disregarding religious beliefs the confirmed program should be studied”.
“Sociological researches which often study opinion of citizens on their relation to God, assert that the majority of citizens of Ukraine believe in God as the Creator of the Universe. However the Soviet past left a habit of double standards in our consciousness. At home we believe, out of door – we try to be what the others want us to be. We dare to be silent on humiliation of our Christian advantage”, Oksana Senchuk, the representative of the USCC at the Social Council commented to the Institute of Religious Freedom on this point in question at the Ministry of Education concerning cooperation with churches and religious organisations.
“This habit for double standards took roots in our consciousness so deeply that we did not notice that we live in our state and we have right to be owners in it and to bring up our children according to our family values. This right was already given to us by the Constitution of Ukraine, it is necessary just to defend it“, Oksana Senchuk emphasized.
Let's remind that in 2006 already was brought up the issue on studying of creationism in the schools of Ukraine. Then a number of Ukrainian scholars addressed the Ministry of Education of Ukraine with the requirement to change school textbooks, but they got “formal reply”.
Judicial case on this point in question is precedent in the history of independent Ukraine.
By RISU
