Rustem Khamitov spoke today on the topic of studying the Bashkir language in the schools of the republic. He commented on Putin's recent statement in Yoshkar-Ola, when the president made it clear that he opposed compulsory study children of languages of national regions.
The head of Bashkortostan said that he supported Putin's position. The Ministry of Education will soon prepare the relevant documents.
“The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Bashkortostan once again analyzed the situation with the study of native languages in the region and saw that it was necessary to make changes to the basic educational plans for the eighth and ninth grades regarding the obligatory study of the Bashkir language as the state language. These changes will be made, including because there is a harmonization, conjugation of the Bashkir and Russian legislation in terms of federal state educational standards and approaches to the study of native languages,” said Rustem Khamitov.
Apparently, this means that the compulsory study of Bashkir and other national languages will still be canceled in the republic.
At the same time, the head of the republic called for doing everything to preserve the language. He proposed expanding the voluntary study of Bashkir everywhere, including in the form of extracurricular classes in schools, evening classes, additional courses in universities and "universities of the third age".
“We need to help ensure that schools have additional lessons for those who want to study native language in depth. These classes can and should be conducted as an elective. I am sure that this form of education will be in demand,” said Rustem Khamitov.
The head of the republic also believes that parents should make the decision to learn or not to learn their native language. At the same time, he expressed the hope that the inhabitants of the region would agree that their children study Bashkir as one of the state languages of Bashkortostan.
“You have to understand that learning your native language is, first of all, the choice of parents. In this case, my personal opinion: I would like the Bashkir language to be studied in our republic as the state language, so that parents choose the Bashkir language as the state language and agree that their children study the Bashkir language here, in our republic, as the state language. I hope that the understanding of the parent community in this part, of course, will be found,” Rustem Khamitov emphasized.
He also said that during the revision of the curricula for grades 8 and 9, there would be no reduction in hours for teachers of the Bashkir language. They will be able to supplement the missing lessons with extracurricular activities.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin's statement about the study of national languages caused a heated discussion in the pedagogical and ethnic community.
Compulsory study of the Bashkir language will be canceled in schools of Bashkiria. This was made clear by the head of the republic, Rustem Khamitov. The other day, he commented on Vladimir Putin’s speech in Yoshkar-Ola on July 20, in which the president directly stated that it was unacceptable to force people to learn non-native languages. The position of the head of state and the reaction of the regional authorities aroused the rejoicing of the parents and the grumbling of the nationalists. The opinions of the parties were clarified by the correspondent of "FederalPress".
The leadership of Bashkiria did not comment on one of the painful topics for the national region for a long time. More than two weeks had passed since Putin's speech at the Council on Interethnic Relations in Mari El, when Rustem Khamitov finally made a lengthy commentary on the issue of teaching the Bashkir language in schools.
“The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Bashkortostan once again analyzed the situation with the study of native languages in the region and saw that it was necessary to make changes to the basic educational plans for the eighth and ninth grades regarding the obligatory study of the Bashkir language as the state language,” said the head of Bashkiria.
At the same time, he refers to the need to "pair" the Bashkir and Russian legislation in terms of educational standards.
“Relevant orders will be issued by the Ministry of Education. I want to say that this will in no way change the situation in terms of learning Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash, and other native languages,” emphasizes Rustem Khamitov.
Further, the head of the region speaks about the need to unconditionally preserve and develop the language, study it at schools and universities. Encourages parents to encourage their children to learn Bashkir.
However, behind all the conciliatory rhetoric, the public considered a clear signal for the abolition of the mandatory study of the Bashkir language as the state language.
Language is my enemy
Back in the spring, discussions about the need for compulsory study of the language of the titular people flared up with renewed vigor in the republic. The reason was the decision of the supervisory authorities. At the end of May, the prosecutor's office protested the violation of federal educational standards in the region's schools regarding the teaching of languages. The head of the republic made a presentation.
The leadership of Bashkortostan was silent even then. They understood how delicate the topic was and did not want to disturb the public once again. In June, the executive committee of the World Kurultai of the Bashkirs held a meeting on the problem of learning languages. The discussion turned out to be timid, on duty and resulted in a decision to correct the curricula.
More resolute representatives of the national elite expressed their direct disagreement with the "assault on the Bashkir language."
Apparently, similar sentiments were brewing in other republics of the Volga region and reached the ears of the president, who expressed his categorical "no" at a meeting in Yoshkar-Ola.
“To study these languages is a constitutionally guaranteed right, a voluntary right. Forcing a person to learn a language that is not native to him is just as unacceptable as reducing the level and time of teaching Russian. I draw special attention of the heads of regions to this Russian Federation", Vladimir Putin said at the time.
Heads between two fires
The leaders of the regions could not disagree with the president's decision. As in Bashkiria, in other national republics it took a long time to decide what to say to the people. Reducing language lessons in schools is fraught with at least dissatisfaction of some voters, including teachers of these languages.
Political scientist Abbas Gallyamov believes that Putin put Rustem Khamitov in a very difficult situation, forcing him to make a deliberately unpopular decision.
“Putin said an unambiguous thing: schoolchildren should not be forced to learn languages that are not native to them. If Khamitov repeats this, the parents will be delighted, and the nationalists will be furious. Khamitov, as always, tried to get away from unambiguity: he gave out a set of niceties, one cannot but agree with each of them individually, but in the aggregate it is impossible to understand, ”says the political scientist.
According to the expert, Khamitov wants to continue to sit on two chairs at the same time, so that neither the parents of the schoolchildren would be offended by him, nor the nationalists.
“In the end, of course, he will anger both those and those. Everyone is waiting for a decision from him, but he is not able to solve anything, out of habit he tries to get away with talking, ”says Abbas Gallyamov.
Bashkir public figure Azamat Galin believes that the head of Bashkiria had no choice at all. He simply has to fulfill the will of the federal center, regardless of public opinion. “I would not say that (Khamitov) found himself between two fires. The public poses no threat to him. In our country, as you know, the entire vertical is tied to one person. And if there are protests in Bashkiria, then there will probably be some adjustments. It's hard for me to predict anything. Let's wait and see," Galin said.
At the same time, he believes that in order to abolish the norm on the mandatory study of the Bashkir language as the state language, it will be necessary to change the Constitution of Bashkortostan.
“We have a constitution. And this rule is spelled out in it. This means that the Constitution will need to be amended. This means that someone will have to initiate this,” said Azamat Galin.
In fairness, it must be said that many parents, indeed, did not hide their joy at the decision of the president and the head of the republic. Children will no longer be bothered by the already confused Unified State Examination, a difficult and incomprehensible language that no one knows when it will come in handy in life, and whether it will come in handy at all.
For the intelligentsia, this step was a signal of retreat in the struggle to preserve the Bashkir language, which, according to the UN, remains in the vulnerable category.
Rustem Khamitov tried to soften the blow by saying that now missing Bashkir lessons in schools can be held as electives or evening classes. Introduce additional (voluntary!) courses at the higher educational institutions of the republic. Teach Bashkir pensioners in "universities of the third age."
“The Bashkir language was, is and will be. The study of the Bashkir language was, is and will be. The scope of the study largely depends on the decision of the parent community. But at the same time, we understand that here, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, we must preserve the language and provide all support measures,” the head of the republic concluded.
It would seem that the question of whether to study the Bashkir language in schools or not is closed. After pickets, letters and complaints from parents, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia developed guidelines, and the Prosecutor General's Office checked the curricula for compliance with the laws, but
As a result, it was decided that Bashkir, as the state language of the republic, could be taught in schools for a maximum of two hours a week. And this applies not only to Bashkiria, but also to all subjects of the country where there is a second state language. After that, the authorities and law enforcement agencies reported that the conflict of interest was resolved, and everyone was happy. But it was not there.
On May 8, 2018, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation received a letter from parents and activists from several regions at once, including Bashkiria. They again asked to cancel the compulsory study of national languages in schools. As an alternative, the authors proposed to release Saturday from classes and on this day to conduct lessons in the Bashkir, Tatar, Buryat or other national language, but at the request of the students.
Everything is back to where it started. Parents believe that their children are forced to learn the Bashkir language, which they do not want to learn and, it seems, they are not obliged to. That is, no one explained to parents who owes what and to whom. And by the way, schools also cannot give a clear answer to a seemingly simple question: is it possible to make sure that one individual child does not learn the Bashkir language? And this is not surprising, schools receive so many instructions, recommendations, plans and standards that the devil himself will break his leg in these documents.
The Bashkir language is studied within the framework of two disciplines: "The Bashkir language as the state language of the Republic of Belarus" and "Native language". With the second, everything is more or less clear, parents are offered a choice of several languages, usually Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash or additional Russian, and they themselves choose what their child will study.
But with the Bashkir language as a state language, difficulties begin. Let's start with the fact that the curriculum is divided into a mandatory basic part and a part formed by the participants in educational relations. In theory, it works like this: all schoolchildren study lessons from the basic part without fail, and from the formed part - at the request of the parents and the school's capabilities.
In practice, everything is much more complicated. Firstly, every year two plans are developed - federal (from the Ministry of Education of Russia) and regional (from the Ministry of Education of Bashkortostan), naturally, they differ.
Secondly, for different schools and classes it is different - in the middle level, some lessons can be considered mandatory, but in the upper grades they are no longer there.
Thirdly, there is still an incomprehensible wording "regional component" - whether this is the third part in the curriculum, or is it a subparagraph of the part formed by the participants educational process.
As they say, it's clear that it's dark. It is so easy for an unprepared person to understand this bureaucratic system. For people who are far from the education system, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Belarus published recommendations. The document says that the Bashkir language as the state language can be studied with the consent of the parents, since this lesson is one of the subjects formed by the participants in the educational process. That is, the parent signed the consent - the child learns the Bashkir language, did not sign - does not teach. In the second case, instead of the Bashkir language, students are offered other subjects of local history, providing "ethno-cultural interests of students." No specifics, the schools themselves have to deal with the refuseniks.
It's good that the school year ends with sin in half, but what will happen next - one can only guess. Let's hope that the participants in the educational process, as the authorities call them, will be able to agree, and teachers will be allowed to work in peace, and parents will finally be explained whether their children are obliged to study the Bashkir language or not.
Changes will be made to the basic educational plans regarding the obligatory study of the Bashkir language as the state language, the head of Bashkiria, Rustem Khamitov, told reporters while visiting a school under construction in the Demsky district of Ufa. True, the changes will affect only the plans of the eighth and ninth grades. In which direction the plans will change, Rustem Khamitov did not say, noting only that "additional electives will be introduced there", but since now students from the second to the ninth grades study the Bashkir language 1-2 hours a week, it can be assumed that we are talking about the abolition of the obligation of these lessons in grades 8-9.
The discussion around the compulsory study of national languages in schools unfolded with renewed vigor after Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations in July that “forcing a person to learn a language that is not his native language is just as unacceptable as and reduce the level of teaching Russian” and drew special attention of the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation to this. At the same time, the President emphasized that the languages of the peoples of Russia are an integral part of the original culture of the country, and studying them is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, moreover, voluntary.
In Bashkiria, “harmonization, conjugation of Bashkir and Russian legislation in terms of federal state educational standards and approaches to the study of native languages is underway,” Rustem Khamitov said yesterday. At the same time, he dispelled fears about a decrease in the number of hours for studying native languages: “this will in no way change the situation in terms of studying Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash, and other native languages. It is necessary to help ensure that additional lessons appear in schools for those who want to study their native language in depth. These classes can and should be conducted as an elective. I am sure that this form of education will be in demand.”
The head of Bashkiria also expressed his personal opinion on this issue, which consists in the fact that “parents choose the Bashkir language as the state language and agree that their children study the Bashkir language here in our republic as the state language. I hope that the understanding of the parent community in this part, of course, will be found.” “You can't fire teachers of the Bashkir language, you need to keep the teams, because the number of hours is not decreasing,” added Rustem Khamitov. He also noted that “the scope of the study largely depends on the decision of the parent community. But at the same time, we understand that here in the republic the Bashkir language must be preserved and provided with all measures of support.”
The right of the parent community to take part in the coordination of curricula is spelled out in the law on education. Curriculum in which children learn Russian schools, is divided into two parts: mandatory ( federal standard) and formed by participants in educational relations (that is, with the participation of parents or legal representatives of children and the teaching staff). Hours for in-depth study of subjects of choice of parents are taken from the second part of the curriculum. Their number varies from one to three per week.
March 6, 2018, 07:53Forge of national personnel - Bashkir Republican boarding school No. 1 named after. Rami Garipova turns 74 this year. Over the years of work, it has produced more than 10 thousand graduates, many of whom hold high leadership positions in various regions of the republic and the country. Photo: brgi1.org
The purpose of the gymnasium
The need to create a gymnasium was dictated not by idle interests, but by the vital need to preserve the Bashkir people. The issue of training national personnel was acute. Then in 1943 People's Commissar Sahib Zainashev proposed to the Secretary of the Bashkir Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to create a regional Bashkir school with a boarding school. The document on the establishment of a boarding school for 200 places for indigenous children, signed on March 25, 1944, opened a new page in the history of the Bashkir people. the list of students included orphans, children of veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War Bashkir nationality. Established during the war years, the only Ufa Bashkir school became a solution to the problem for many children from the outback. Before that, not only did they go to college, but they had nowhere to get a normal education. The need to train national personnel existed before and exists now. Today, this issue is even more acute against the background of increased claims to the languages of the peoples of Russia.
Cancellation of the Bashkir language
However, recently there have been changes in the gymnasium that have stirred up the public. The reason for this was the change in clause 6.7 of the BRGI charter No. 1, which read: “The language of instruction at the Institution is Bashkir and Russian. Training on Bashkir carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Studying foreign languages carried out according to curriculum". Today, the leadership has changed it this way: “Language, languages, educations are determined by local regulations Institutions implemented by it educational programs, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.” The document was signed at the Ministry of Education on February 31, 2018. A date that doesn't exist.
First of all, graduates of the gymnasium reacted to this. They suggest that this is the first step towards changing the status of the BRGI and transferring it from the category of a national school to a regular one. This presupposes the selection of children to the educational institution, whose parents will not choose the Bashkir language as the language of instruction, respectively, the national gymnasium will lose its current status. Recall that in September last year, the Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus Gulnaz Shafikova assured that the rumors about the removal of the status of the Bashkir gymnasium are unreliable.
The activities of the gymnasium, aimed at developing the personnel potential of the republic, are very valuable. Currently, the work of the gymnasium is aimed at preserving and developing the potential of students and teachers, - Gulnaz Shafikova said in an interview.
A copy of the charter about clause 6.7.
Graduates are sure that the headmaster of the gymnasium, Laysan Fazletdinova, is the initiator of the reforms. Moreover, they accuse her of the fact that, while working as the head of the education department of the Uchalinsky district of the republic, she initiated the removal of the status of a national school from the Uchalinsky Bashkir gymnasium. Without the prefix "Bashkir" in the name, the institution worked for about six months, but then, under pressure from social activists, Fazletdinova was forced to return former name of the school.
Now, as noted in the Association of Alumni of the BRGI No. R. Garipova "Berense", she was appointed director of the gymnasium as a liquidator.
Throughout the history of the existence of the gymnasium, despite different economic and political situations, not a single minister of education of the republic, not a single leader of the republic and the country allowed the thought to abolish this national school. Any actions to change the status of the Bashkir Republican Gymnasium No. 1 named after. R. Garipov will definitely be regarded not only as a step to counteract the Bashkir people, infringement of their dignity, but also as a diversion aimed at interethnic confrontation in the republic, - considers the Chairman of the Association of Graduates of the BRGI No. 1 named after. R. Garipov "Behrense" Boris Guzairov.
Quorum violation
Changes to the charter were made at the end of January 2018. Boris Guzairov believes that the director, using the patronage of Gulnaz Shafikova, violated the rules of the quorum and literally pushed her idea through.
To change the paragraph of the charter, the number of voters was not enough. To do this, at least 2/3 of the entire team had to be present. Approximately 140 teachers were about 30 people. When the issue was resolved, the director was not there, - said one of the teachers of the gymnasium. - Now mother tongue only with parental permission. Our main fear is that if they refuse, we will not be able to do anything, we will lose our status.
If the voting rules were violated, why did the director allow herself to sign the document? Laysan Fazletdinova herself said that she was not the chairman of the teachers' council, but a member of the trade union committee, and more than 70% of those present voted for changing the charter. And with regards to local acts, she clarified that this is a formality required by the Obrnadzor. They just put the charter in order in accordance with federal law, and this will not affect in any way educational system BRGI No. 1, in particular in the study of the Bashkir language. Laysan Fazletdinova admitted that due to the close attention from the public, parents and regulatory authorities, she does not have time to work with students and the team.
Today, all subjects in the gymnasium are taught only in Russian. And the study of the Bashkir language is possible on the basis of the application of the parents and the creation of the required number of appropriate classes. Moreover, the charter states that its teaching should not be at the expense of learning the Russian language. At the same time, BRGI No. 3 (in the city of Kumertau - ed.), the Bashkir boarding school No. 2 named after A.-Z. Validi of the Ishimbay region and the Ufa city Bashkir gymnasium No. 20 named after. F.Kh.Mustafina was not affected by the reforms. Education there is still carried out in Russian and Bashkir languages. Which, in principle, is natural, given Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan (State languages The Republic of Bashkortostan are Bashkir and Russian languages - ed.).
We took this point one to one as it is written in article 283 federal law on the formation of the Russian Federation. Now the choice of language is regulated by the regulations of the organization, that is, by us. There is a form, there is a content: the content remains, but the form has changed with the requirements of the law. We don't keep secrets from anything. Everything is transparent with us, - director of the gymnasium Laysan Fazletdinova commented on the situation. - This does not mean that the study of native languages is abolished. The volume of hours of the Bashkir language is not lost. The Bashkir language is our brand. And the main goal of our gymnasium is to preserve the language in its color, diversity and not spill what was before us in terms of preserving the Bashkir language.
Is it the director's reason?
However, the public does not believe in the director's sincerity. Her actions are regarded as an attempt to cut national education at the root. We sent several requests to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus at once to clarify the situation. But there, apparently, they do not want to comply with the requirements of the law on the media - so far there have been no answers to requests.
Now the Association of Alumni of the BRGI No. 1 named after. R. Garipov "Berense" is preparing an appeal to the higher authorities of the republic with a request not to allow a change in the status of the gymnasium. They ask all graduates, as well as other people who are not indifferent to the fate of the Bashkir people, to sign the petition.
The case leads to the destruction of the gymnasium, the Bashkir language. This command was given by Rail Asadullin (The rector of the BSPU named after M. Akmulla, is a member of the Council of the Mejlis of the Tatar murzas of the Republic of Belarus, which is known for its nationalist views - ed.). Neither the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Belarus Salavat Sagitov, nor the Minister of Education Gulnaz Shafikova take any action, - considers the former Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus Ildar Itkulov. who are fighting for their children to know their language at the literary level, and not at the everyday level. But the people who oppose us are very strong. If they break the strongest - BRGI No. 1 - then it will go further along the knurled one.
In the context of the abolition of the compulsory study of the Bashkir language by the higher authorities, it would be a wise decision not to reorganize the Bashkir schools, but, on the contrary, to preserve and strengthen them.
Alumni Opinions
We have asked famous alumni BRGI #1, what do they think about it. First of all, they contacted the Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus Gullaria Yalchikaeva. For some reason, our call offended her. She reacted extremely negatively and spoke in raised tones. At first she shouted into the phone that we had no right to call her as the Deputy Minister of Education.
Although initially we warned that we want to know her point of view as a graduate of BRGI No. 1. Then there were vague explanations that she needed the Bashkir language in her life, but she would not be responsible for her current students. After that, she gave out that she had not read the charter of the gymnasium, and the journalist who called her was not her father and not a friend to ask personal questions.
Salavat Kildin, ex-Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC "BST":
I cannot understand who, in such a democratic time, gets in the way of the word "Bashkir"? This gymnasium does not interfere with either the Russian or the Tatar. Why artificially destroy interethnic relations? This should be valued. The republic is based on it. Tension is created out of the blue. Schools are closed in the districts, children are left without a normal education. Now, more than in wartime, boarding schools of this level are needed. Perhaps, it is necessary to create Bashkir boarding schools in all districts. And not only Bashkir. I think everyone has the right to be taught in their own language. If neither the principal of the school nor the Minister of Education cares about this, then they do not correspond to their position.
Fanis Iskhakov, ex-head of Bashtransgaz:
First they closed the Sermenevsky Bashkir Orphanage, and now we have reached the BRGI No. 1. And I also heard that they want to increase the payment in the gymnasium. Then children from poor families will not be able to go there. All this leads to the liquidation of the gymnasium. I do not think that this is an idea of the local authorities, everything comes from Moscow. This applies not only to the Bashkirs, but also to all the indigenous peoples of the country, in order to unify everyone into a single Russian people. This is a completely unacceptable policy. Let the peoples be given the opportunity to preserve their native language and culture. We need the activity of all graduates, social activists and the media. We must take on the problem and prevent it from happening.
Ramil Rakhmatov, journalist, columnist for the Bonus newspaper:
I have a negative attitude to the idea of removing the word "Bashkir" from the wording of the charter of BRGI No. 1 for several reasons at once. First, no matter what the officials and the leadership of the gymnasium say, we are well aware that any formal step will be followed by a specific action. Today we are told that this is casuistry, and they change some letter in the regulatory documents, but this will open the way for a claim that BRGI No. 1 loses its status as a Bashkir one. This cannot be done, if only for the reason for which the gymnasium was created. This is one of the few educational institutions, which gives gifted children from the Bashkir hinterland a chance to get a decent education and a start in life. And the loss of its status will lead to the fact that social elevators will be lost for rural youth. The second reason can be explained by the example of the Bashkir gymnasium No. M. Karim, where the Bashkir language was originally registered in the charter. It so happened that because of the zoning system, children from nearby districts of the city who do not speak the Bashkir language go to the gymnasium. Initially, their parents sign a consent to learn the Bashkir language. There are few such families, but after a while this aggressive minority managed to start a conflict. They are trying to dictate their rules with the help of provocations and the involvement of law enforcement agencies. But only thanks to the charter, the language and status of the Bashkir gymnasium has been preserved to this day. In BRGI No. 1, the situation may repeat itself. The loss of status will mean more the loss of some internal symbol of the Bashkirs. Now the opinion is spreading that the Bashkirs have nothing left of their own.
