In 5 years Belarusian schools will disappear altogether if nothing changes

Only 1.9% of Hrodna first-grade pupils study in Belarusian this year. It is 30 times less than in 1993-1994 academic year.

In connection with this situation the Belarusian language society has called upon parents, public activists and politicians to start creation of Belarusian language classes and schools for the next academic year, Radio Svaboda informs.

Though the educational year has started almost 5 months ago, the Education Ministry has informed the statistics on Belarusian language schoolchildren only now. Besides, it has been done only after numerous demands of the Belarusian language lovers. The chairman of the Belarusian language society Aleh Trusau believes that the delay was not a coincidence.

“It should be related to the fact that the statistics offered by them is very alarming. The processes of decrease of the number of children who study in Belarusian, has become much quicker than in the previous years. The rate was half a per cent a year, and now almost 2%. We have a great decrease, and it is the greatest in the cities,” Aleh Trusau said.

In general, 18.4% out of the total number of schoolchildren study in Belarusian this year. 16.7% of first grade children study in Belarusian, and in towns and cities this number is only 1.9%. Let us remind that in 1993-1994 academic year 76% of first grade schoolchildren sat behind desks of Belarusian language classes. There were 58.6% of first grades with instruction in Belarusian. Ales Trusau’s conclusion from the statistics is pessimistic.

“In the long run, if nothing changes, it means complete extinction of such schoolchildren. Why? The process of village disappearance is inevitable, and if we would lose Belarusian language city population, we shall gradually lose the statehood and independence,” the chairman of the Belarusian Language Society draws the conclusion.

“We hope that public activists, primarily those who consider themselves representatives of freethinking community, would start the affair of creating Belarusian language classes now, not waiting for summer, when everybody would have holidays. Applications should be submitted already to administrations of their cities and villages, so that people saw how the situation stands in advance. And certainly, children and grandchildren of pro-democracy activists, for instance, the UCP, BPF, Hramada activists and so on, should be the core of these classes. They make rather a great number,” Ales Trusau continues.

And if that wouldn’t be done at the present, the leader of the Belarusian language Society added, in less than 7 years there would be no schoolchildren studying in Belarusian.

It is obvious that the Belarusian education could be restored only after political regime change.