Although activists have long advocated for the introduction of such a subject, the school itself has denied this news, noting that the published «document» — the educational program — was riddled with errors.
Students in Kyiv’s elementary schools are now being taught a subject on gender and sexuality — this «news» has been spread by pro-Russian sources. As evidence, propagandists present a photo supposedly showing the cover of a textbook titled «Basics of Gender Diversity and Sexual Orientation» and an educational program for the subject approved at School No. 1 in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv. This information was even disseminated in English and Polish, provoking a strong reaction from pro-Russian foreigners.
However, this news is an unconvincing fake. First, the textbook that third graders are allegedly studying, «Basics of Gender Diversity and Sexual Orientation,» does not exist—there is no information about such a book online. Nina Mykolaivna Burynska, listed as the author of the book, actually authored chemistry textbooks—so it is unclear what connection this teacher has to a subject on gender and sexuality. Moreover, Nina Burynska passed away in February 2017 at the age of 90, making it impossible for her to have written this textbook.
The photo of the «document» — the educational program description cited by propagandists—also contains numerous errors. The words «approved,» «Shevchenkivskyi,» and «pedagogical» are misspelled, the word «council» is missing, and the word «school» strangely includes the Russian letter «ы». We also contacted the administration of School No. 1—school representatives pointed out these errors and clarified that an educational program is a document outlining the hours and activities for the entire school, not just a specific subject. Additionally, the educational program for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year is still under revision and has not been published online. It is likely that propagandists based their fake on the school’s educational program for the 2023-2024 academic year, which is available online.
Currently, sexual education does not have the status of a mandatory element in the curriculum of general education schools in Ukraine, although activists have long advocated for its implementation. In April 2023, a relevant petition garnered 25,000 signatures on the President of Ukraine’s website and was submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers. Despite propagandists’ claims that such lessons «corrupt» children, research shows that sexual education does not encourage risky behavior among teenagers and youth; on the contrary, it reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Fakes on the topics of gender, sexuality, and the LGBT community are one of the favorite tools of Russian propaganda. For more debunkings on this topic, see the articles Fake: A New LGBT Pride Month Design for Transit Passes Was Presented in Kyiv and Fake: Gender-Neutral Toilets Appeared in Ukrainian Schools.
