Andriy Ivanets, Belarus’s Minister of Education
As reported by the official information agency BELTA, the Minister of Education of Belarus announced plans to popularize the Russian language.
Andriy Ivanyets, Belarus’ Minister of Education, announced the intent to intensify the promotion of the Russian language in the country. He expressed these plans during his speech at the first ministerial conference of the International Organization of the Russian Language.
According to the head of the ministry, implementing the initiatives involves a variety of steps: contests, Olympiads, educational projects and other events aimed at increasing schoolchildren’s and students’ interest in the Russian language.
In Belarus, the Russian language has the status of a state language together with Belarusian.
It effectively dominates the education system: according to official data, more than 90% of students study Russian, about 8% – Belarusian.
Language issues in Belarus have been discussed for many years by the public, experts and educators.
The situation regarding the use of Belarusian language in education and society
Some experts and cultural figures express concern about the decline in the use of Belarusian, particularly in education and urban environments.
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