Disputes about teaching Tatar language in Tatarstan schools do not subside. On the eve, on October 25, the Kazan mayor's office in holding a rally in support of the language, before this teaching program at a special meeting of the first persons of the republic. Almost every day, Russian-speaking and Tatar-speaking activists hold protest actions in defense of their own positions. Against this background, "Idel.Realii" discussed the problems of the language with those whom they directly concern and whom they can hit - with the teachers of Tatar. On October 24, these people with a "letter of pain and excitement" to the deputies of the State Council of Tatarstan. What do teachers think about the further teaching of the Tatar language and literature in schools, what they are told in administrations educational institutions what are they waiting for and what are they counting on?

At the request of the speakers, their names have been changed.

Lilia, work experience - five years:

I no longer have any emotions. For two months there is no certainty: when can I leave school, are they going to fire us, whether to look new job? I'm on this moment I am already looking for a new job, because I know for sure that the hours of the Tatar language will be shortened. For example, they will leave one lesson of literature and language in the lower grades, and in 10-11, they may be completely removed.

There is no direct pressure from the administration yet. Now we are working as usual. But it is known for certain that the changes will be either after the first quarter, or after the new year.

What we expect and fear is reductions. First of all, they said, pensioners and young people will be "thrown out" - these are unmarried girls, without children or whose children are already studying in schools. Those who have children under three years old will not be touched. The rest should all be made redundant. We do not know how our republic can allow an outcome in which so many teachers will be fired even without compensation.

Renata, work experience - three years:

Usually, up to the fourth grade, children love Tatar, study it with interest.

We have a gymnasium, and I believe that slightly different children study here. They show consistently nice results, they have interested parents. Until the fourth grade, we study the Tatar language according to the method of Litvinov. It allows for the minimum number of lessons, since children receive the maximum knowledge for this age. The technique is good, but it is not on the federal list. The question is why? Also, for the second year already, as an experiment, we have been conducting our lessons according to the method of V.N. Meshcheryakova. You just need to get involved in the process and work, which we did and got a good result later.

Usually, up to the fourth grade, children love Tatar, study it with interest. This is precisely the period when the child is not yet thinking about something else, does not argue whether it is necessary to study Tatar or not. He is here and now, it is at this very moment that he is interested and he listens and teaches. In the fifth-eighth grades, the transitional age begins, and the teaching methodology also changes. Training is carried out according to the textbooks of R.R. Nigmatullina. and here concretization is lost. In addition, the children are no longer the same, there is no enthusiasm, questions begin about why they need Tatar, calls from disgruntled parents. What is the omission here? We have always discussed this with the teachers. Where are our interested children?

I decided for myself that my health and the health of my family are important to me. I don’t know what will happen next.

In grades 10-11, the Tatar language is taught and studied for show. It all depends on the teacher. Keeping an exhausted 11th grader busy requires teaching talent and experience.

Speaking about the current situation around the language lately, I think this is horror. Everything somewhere is about to be decided by someone. The feeling of ignorance remains, but it must be overcome. I decided for myself that my health and the health of my family are important to me. I don’t know what will happen next. I can't even imagine the experiences of the teachers who have devoted their entire lives to teaching the Tatar language.

Rashida, work experience - 20 years:

Just a little bit before retirement. I don’t know what to say here. This whole situation just unsettled me. I have been working in Kazan all my life and teach children the Tatar language, mainly middle and senior classes. All my life I have been explaining to them that our language is a great wealth, to know it, to understand and speak is necessary and important for the preservation of culture and traditions. Young people here do not think about their roots, do not think about who their ancestors were. It comes with age. Neither the current students nor their parents even want to hear about it. It is clear that for many of them the Tatar language is an obligation, and now there is such a chance to get rid of it. So they took active civic positions.

It is clear that for many people the Tatar language is an obligation, but now there is such a chance to get rid of it. So they took active civic positions.

The fact that they are now planning to remove Tatar will lead to an increase in the hours of the Russian language. They will schedule two lessons every day. Then they will complain that there is too much Russian in their life. In this case, two or three people will attend the optional Tatar sixth lesson.

At my school, I have not yet been told directly to pack my things, but conversations are already going on behind my back. Of course, they will cut me down first and then slowly and others. They'll pay for a month - it's already good.

Venus, work experience - seven years:

Of course, they will cut me down first and then slowly and others. They'll pay for a month - it's already good.

I don't even want to talk about it. While everything is quiet, the lessons are going on as before. Nobody cancels anything, but they also promise nothing. The mood among teachers is bad, everyone understands that there will be reductions. Children also know that from the second quarter of the Tatar lessons there will be less, but they do not really care.

We have a school where parents don't throw tantrums. In this regard, they, like their children, react quite calmly. They know that they can choose the curriculum themselves, change the program, so they do it.

It seems that no one thinks about what will happen to the teachers who will be left without work: neither the school administration, nor the state.

The controversy surrounding the compulsory teaching of the Tatar language in Tatarstan schools erupted with renewed vigor after the president Putin that forcing a person to learn a language that is not native to him is unacceptable. Inspired by this statement, the "Committee of Russian-speaking parents of Tatarstan" is now canceling the compulsory lessons of Tatar, and Tatar activists, on the contrary, from Putin, keep the study of the Tatar language as the state language.

October 18 "Idel.Realii" for a commentary on the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and tried to find out his position on the situation with the Tatar language, but he declined to comment. His press secretary Eduard Khairullin to the question of when it will be possible to hear the position of the head of the republic, he answered succinctly - "we will immediately inform."

Calls to refuse to study the Tatar language contradict the legislation, according to the ministry

The Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan called the calls of the parents of students to refuse to study the Tatar language contrary to the current legislation and "misleading". The wave of parental discontent was partly provoked by the opening speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations in Yoshkar-Ola, where the head of state spoke about the inadmissibility of “forcing a person to learn” a foreign language.

State and native?

In Tatarstan, every parent of a student knows that learning the Tatar language in local schools is compulsory. Some moms and dads, however, try to resist this.

Kazan lawyer Sergei Khapugin went farthest in his intention to achieve the abolition of the study of this subject for his schoolboy son. In the early 2000s, he initiated legal proceedings against the republican Ministry of Education. However, the man lost both processes - the first in the Vakhitovsky District Court, and then in the Constitutional Court.

After Khapugin, a resident of Nizhnekamsk, Victoria Mozharova, defended the right of her children not to learn the Tatar language. The woman allowed her sons, seventh-graders of Lyceum No. 14, to skip this subject. However, the local prosecutor's office recognized Mozharova's actions as illegal and sued her.

Until now, there have been no other striking examples in the republic. And everything would be the same if it were not for the July speech of the head of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Yoshkar-Ola at the visiting meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations.

“The Russian language for us is the natural spiritual framework of our entire multinational country. Everyone should know it ... 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 ... "- Putin said then in his opening speech.

Partly because of this, the parents of Tatarstan schoolchildren began to unite in various committees and bombard the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia with letters. Today, the group "Committee of Russian-speaking parents of Tataria" in "VKontakte" already includes 2,800 people. Similar groups exist in Zelenodolsk, Bugulma, Elabuga ...

By the way, samples of applications (group and individual) about the refusal to study the Tatar language are posted in the committee group.

The Ministry of Education and Science explains ...

It seems that the regional Ministry of Education and Science could not ignore or ignore the dissatisfaction of citizens. This is evidenced by the "clarification on the issue of teaching the Tatar language in educational institutions Republic of Tatarstan ".

It is curious that such conclusions in the ministerial "clarification" are made on the basis of the decree Constitutional Court RF dated November 16, 2004 No. 16-P. "The study in educational institutions of Russian and Tatar languages ​​as state languages ​​in the Republic of Tatarstan is recognized as not contrary to the Constitution Russian Federation».

At the same time, the ministry informs that it is taking "measures to improve the methods and technologies of teaching the Tatar language."

No less interesting information is contained in the last paragraph of the "clarification", which states that the Tatarstan Prime Minister "made a decision to bring the volume of Russian language learning from January 1, 2018 to the volume recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation." Whether the regional Ministry of Education and Science thereby recognizes the fact that there is a preponderance in favor of learning the Tatar language remains unsaid. At the time of publication, MK-Povolzhye had not yet received a response to its inquiry to the ministerial press service on this matter.

"This is the agony of the ministry"

An explanation is the agony of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan! This is an attempt by a drowning man to grab at straws, - said Mikhail Shcheglov, chairman of the Society of Russian Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, in an interview with MK-Povolzhye correspondent.

According to the interlocutor, “clarification” is an attempt to stop the “wave” of statements from active parents. And a possible relaxation in the form of transferring the subject to the category of optional ones would instantly reduce the attendance of Tatar lessons by 80%.

Vladimir Putin, as we recall, instructed the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosobrnadzor to conduct an audit on the issue of observance of the right of citizens to voluntary study languages. Earlier, he stated that it was inadmissible to reduce the hours of studying the Russian language. Now heads can fly, because a wave of letters from the parents of schoolchildren from Tatarstan has started. Such a folder with letters was received by Vasilieva (Olga Vasilieva, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation - ed.),- says Shcheglov.

According to Shcheglov, the Committee of Russian-speaking parents of Tatarstan and the Society of Russian Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan is preparing a similar folder for the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation.

The chairman of the All-Tatar Public Center (VTOTs) Farit Zakiev believes that the problem with teaching the Tatar language would not have arisen if the Tatar language was initially recognized as the state language in the Republic of Tatarstan.

If we declared it (Tatar language - ed.) the state language exactly 25 years ago, there would have been no problem. This is the task of the same Ministry of Education and Science, the Cabinet of Ministers and the President, the task of the State Council. De jure he is, de facto he is not. The question will be removed by itself and the parents themselves will ask to teach him well, - says Zakiev.

At the same time, the head of the VTOTs admits the obviousness of problems with the quality and methods of teaching this subject in schools in Tatarstan.

Absolutely random people with a diploma in economics, etc., become teachers of the Tatar language. In Naberezhnye Chelny, I met teachers of the Tatar language who themselves do not know the language well. Naturally, students' parents have questions in such situations, he adds.

When asked whether there is an advantage in Tatarstan in favor of learning the Tatar language, Zakiev answered vaguely.

I always give a good example: in Khabarovsk, parents demand that their children be taught in kindergartens Chinese... This absolutely lies with our situation: we, too, can get parents to demand that they teach Tatar.

Whether the Prosecutor's Office of Tatarstan will detect violations in the issue of voluntariness of learning the Tatar language will become clear before November 30. According to the press service of the department, the corresponding "task" of the Prosecutor General's Office "will arrive next week."

Recall that by the end of November, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosobrnadzor will conduct an audit on the observance of the right of citizens to voluntary study of languages ​​from among the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia, as stated in the list of instructions of the President of the Russian Federation following the July meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations.

Putin's words about the inadmissibility of the forced study of languages ​​that are not native, were perceived ambiguously in Tatarstan. Yes, the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia, the President noted, are also an integral part of the original culture of the peoples of the country. But “to study these languages ​​is a constitutionally guaranteed right, a voluntary right” ...

It is in the word "voluntary" that the whole collision lies, which is being heatedly discussed in Tatarstan these days. The website inkazan.ru writes about the details.

Tatars forget their native language

Meanwhile, this extremely complex problem can have very unpredictable consequences. As you know, the Tatars are the second largest people in Russia. According to the 2010 census, 5.31 million citizens of Russia ranked themselves as this people, and 4.28 million people spoke the Tatar language (among the Tatars - 3.64 million, that is, 68%)

Experts note that despite the fact that the Tatar language in the republic is on a par with the Russian state language, there are fewer Tatars who know their native language. And this is not surprising - both assimilation and mixed marriages play a role. And of course, the weakening of the position of the language is associated with the low quality of school teaching and the closure of national schools.

According to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan, in 2016-2017 there are 724 schools (including branches) with the Tatar language of instruction in the republic. 173.96 thousand children of Tatar nationality study in schools (this is 46% of the total). Of these, 60.91 thousand Tatar children study in Tatar schools. The total number of Tatar children studying at native language- 75.61 thousand people (43.46%). That is less than half!

The results of a mass survey conducted in Tatarstan in 2014 do not add optimism to the defenders of the native language. According to him, the majority of Tatars would like their children to speak Russian (96%) rather than Tatar (95%). English was in third place - 83%.

And a 2015 study among young people showed that most of them want to speak English (83%). Russian is in second place (62%), while only 32 to 38% of respondents would like to know Tatar. Thus, a kind of scale of prestige was built: "Western - Russian - Tatar", where the latter is perceived as archaic, and acts in the ideas of modern youth, experts conclude. The lack of incentive to study the Tatar language is largely due to the fact that, according to the respondents, this language does not help to find a prestigious job.

This situation could not but disturb the All-Tatar Public Center (VTOC), which sent out an appeal to deputies and political organizations with an appeal to save the Tatar language. The appeal says that, despite the equality of both state languages ​​enshrined in the Constitution of Tatarstan 25 years ago, in fact only Russian can be considered the state language in the republic. For all these years, the State Council of Tatarstan "was not able to organize at least one meeting in the Tatar language, and simultaneous translation was canceled in the Kazan City Duma." In the republic, 699 Tatar schools have been closed, as well as Tatar faculties in two universities.

“There should be one state language in Tatarstan - Tatar,” conclude the members of the VTOTs. - Radically? Maybe there are other suggestions on how to preserve the Tatar language? "

There is already a law on bilingualism in Tatarstan, it is reflected in the Constitution, and no other law is needed, State Council Deputy Khafiz Mirgalimov comments on this statement. Russian and Tatar should remain the state languages.

“In fact, we have two official languages. If someone does not speak Tatar, then you need to address this question to him - why does not he speak? " - says Rafael Khakimov, vice-president of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences.

In reality, however, things are not so simple. For example, the Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov said that schools are sorely lacking not only teachers who know the Tatar language, and this leads to a deterioration in the quality of national education.

But the schoolchildren themselves, apparently, are not too eager to learn the Tatar language. In 2015, the website of the ROD human rights center published an article signed by 11-grade student Diana Suleimanova, who wrote that schoolchildren called Tatar the most unloved subject in school. The girl wrote that children are divided into groups - initial or advanced - based on their surname, not considering whether families with Tatar surnames speak the national language.

They tried to fight for the Tatar language in an administrative way: on July 11, 2017 (even before Putin's speech), the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan adopted a bill, according to which municipalities received the right to fine the management of institutions and other institutions for lack of information in the Tatar language.

It is not difficult to judge the prospect of such measures in Russia: they have always been and will remain a source of various abuses, but the solution of the problem itself is unlikely to be brought any closer.

It is curious that at first Tatarstan said that the words of the head of state about the language had no relation to their region. While in neighboring Bashkiria, they rushed to salute and the head of the republic, Rustem Khamitov, promised to cancel the compulsory lessons of the national language in schools, and then the republic's prosecutor's office issued a statement banning non-voluntary study Bashkir language at local schools.

Do Putin's words contradict the constitution of Tatarstan?

As for Tatarstan, the struggle for the native language continues. This can be judged at least by how the president's words are interpreted.

For example, the journalist Maksim Shevchenko, who was present at the meeting, where the president said his words, hastened to clarify Putin's position:

“This is a signal to everyone that it will be compulsory to study Russian, and you will organize the study of languages ​​for those who wish. I believe that it is useful for people to learn languages, especially such as Tatar. He immediately opens the world in many countries. If you know Tatar, for example, you feel free in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, you freely communicate with the Kyrgyz ... Let's agree with the president that the state language is compulsory. And with the rest of the languages ​​- let's be able to sell them, as they say in the modern world. "

But according to the leader of the Russian national movement in Tatarstan of Mikhail Scheglov, the President of Russia addressed his words precisely to the authorities of Tatarstan. In his opinion, the leadership of the region should take measures and correct the current situation, without waiting for personnel decisions from the federal center.

"For 10 years, I have almost physically felt the pain of parents who do not know how to get rid of this hated subject" Tatar language ": they pretend that they are studying, and aggression comes from above - from the director corps, the bureaucratic educational corps."

The public figure called the statement of the regional authorities that it was possible to reach a consensus on the issue of studying the Tatar language in the republic as a lie. Shcheglov is sure that the national language was and is being planted:

“National languages ​​must be preserved in the environment of their natural carriers, and not artificial, surrogate ones. Let the Tatars learn their language, keep it and answer for it to their descendants, but do not impose it through administrative pressure. "

The Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov commented on the statement of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin as follows:

« We have a Constitution, a law on languages ​​- we have 2 state languages: Russian and Tatar, a law on education. Both state languages ​​are studied in the same volume. We operate in accordance with federal standards. We have no violations here. All our actions have been coordinated with the Ministry of Education. We are performers. We comply with the law, we have an education program, and we will act on this basis. "

Fattakhov said that this year there were no 11 grade graduates in the region who could not overcome minimum threshold taking the exam in the Russian language. According to him, on the instructions of the head of the region, Rustam Minnikhanov, about 150 million rubles are allocated annually from the budget to improve the quality of teaching the Russian language. According to preliminary data, in comparison with the regions of the Russian Federation, the results of graduates in Russian are higher than in most regions, he said. 51 graduates have passed the Russian exam for 100 points this year. However, a year earlier there were more such results - 85.

The head of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan reminded that teaching the Tatar language is differentiated in the region.

“In our republic, the concept of teaching the Tatar language has been adopted specifically for Russian-speaking children, for Tatar children who do not know it perfectly, and purely Tatar children. Our position is as follows: we have 2 state languages. And any parent does not mind if his child is fluent in Russian, Tatar and more English language... We think that everything depends on us and we will continue to work "

The Prosecutor General's Office got down to business

Added fuel to the discussion was the message that Putin instructed the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, together with Rosobrnadzor, to check how the subjects are observing the rights of citizens to voluntarily study the native language and state languages ​​of the republics.

The regional leaders were instructed to organize Russian language training at the level approved by the Russian Ministry of Education, and to improve the quality of teaching. The heads of the regions should make sure that children study the national and state languages ​​of the republic in schools for the general education program exclusively on a voluntary basis at the choice of their parents.

This news did not make everyone happy. For example, political scientist Abbas Gallyamov believes that inspections by Rosobrnadzor and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation in the republic may cancel the obligatory lessons of the Tatar language. “Of course, Tatarstan will have to yield. And this will be another blow to the positions of the leadership of the republic. Moscow will once again demonstrate that it does not intend to reckon with his opinion. "

The results do not look too optimistic sociological research, according to which in Kazan 23-27% of Tatars admit that their children could not learn their native language within the framework of school curriculum... Putin's statement about the voluntary study of foreign languages ​​was supported by 68% of Tatars and 80% of Russians.

And already on September 7, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan issued an official statement regarding the calls to abolish the compulsory study of the Tatar language in schools of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The ministry noted that, based on Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the republics that are part of Russia can independently establish national languages ​​for their region. It is recalled that the national languages ​​in Tatarstan are Russian and Tatar languages, which is why their study in schools is mandatory.

The ministry noted that at the moment the department is improving the methods of teaching the Tatar language and language policy in Tatarstan. It is also reported that from January 1, 2018, the volume of studying the Russian language will be brought up to the volumes recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

As usual in such cases, the difference in the interpretation of the words of the head of state entailed various incidents. For example, a resident of Naberezhnye Chelny in social networks stated that her son was released from Tatar language lessons at school. However, then the woman was told that she had misunderstood the situation: “The director told me that“ I misunderstood them, ”referred to the explanation of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan and said that Tatar is compulsory. The director verbally denied me the right, given to me by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation, to choose whether or not to teach my child a non-native language. However, she did not want to issue a refusal in writing. Citing the fact that she has a period of 30 days. Having received a refusal even orally, I had the opportunity to write complaints to the RF Prosecutor's Office and the RF Ministry of Education and Science, which I will do today ”.

As Inkazan found out, Russian-speaking parents are uniting in social networks to achieve the abolition of learning the Tatar language for their children. In each of them, community administrators emphasize that they are not against the Tatar language as such. They point to its voluntary study and demand that the Tatar language not be imposed on the Russian-speaking population.

Debate has not revealed a winner

It will not be an exaggeration to say that the situation around the Tatar language in Tatarstan is heating up every day. Thus, on September 14, Kazan hosted an open debate on the topic "The Tatar language in the education system of Russia", in which parents of schoolchildren and representatives of public organizations took part. According to the moderator of the conversation, Alber Muratov, the reason for the meeting was the growing scandal in social networks, which resulted in mutual attacks of the Russian and Tatar-speaking population of the republic on the issue of learning the national language as part of the school curriculum.

Member of the All-Tatar Public Center (VTOC) Marat Lutfullin said that he did not understand the meaning of the debate. According to him, educational institutions of the region independently develop educational programs, taking into account federal and regional features and legislation. He proposed, in general, to increase the number of hours, both Russian and Tatar, as well as to introduce compulsory final certification based on the results of studying the national language. His statements caused a negative reaction from the audience, who began to shout and interrupt the speaker.

The chairman of the committee of Russian-speaking citizens of the Republic of Tatarstan Eduard Nosov spoke at the meeting, who read out the explanation of the Tatarstan prosecutor's office on the issue of studying national languages... According to him, the department stated that the right to study the native language as the state language is realized in the republic. However, the prosecutor's office noted that there is a "legal conflict regarding the field of study of the subject area" native language ". There is no distinction between the state language and the native language in federal legislation ”.

Ekaterina Matveeva, a member of the anti-corruption committee at the Ministry of Education of Tatarstan, said that during the day the hotline was open, the ministry received more than 40 complaints about the compulsory study of Tatar in schools, some of which came from groups of students' parents. In addition, Matveeva announced cases of pressure on parents working in the public sector. For speaking out against the study of the national language, children were threatened with dismissal, she said.

And the chairman of the VTOTs Farit Zakiev said, in turn, that in Russia over the past few years the number of Tatars speaking their native language has decreased by more than 1 million people. “Absolutely Russians are not to blame for this, the policy that is being pursued is to blame. We must ensure that Russian parents demand that their children be taught Tatar. "

Zakiev proposed introducing a salary increase of 25% for those who speak the Tatar language, as well as conducting a bilingual interview when applying for a job in government agencies. Zakiev's statements caused a negative reaction from the audience - many rose from their seats and began to interrupt the speaker.

“Why are there any protests, complaints to Moscow? This would not be desirable, because Tatarstan is a separate state and, naturally, the Tatar language is taught to citizens, "Zakiev said, asking those present in their statements" to proceed from the Constitution of the Russian Federation. "

“We proceed from it! We cannot go back, they kick us out, they say that “we have our own,” they shouted from the audience.

It is not hard to guess how this collision will end: the Tatar language in Tatarstan is doomed to optional study. But it is unlikely that this will contribute to civil peace in the republic.

The intensity of passions around the topic of voluntary study of the Tatar language in the schools of the republic continues to grow. In this regard, the Prosecutor General's Office received new requests to check the legality of the compulsory Tatar lessons, and to the Ministry of Education and Science of the republic - statements about the refusal to study.

Residents of Tatarstan began to write en masse refusals to study the Tatar language in the republic's schools, which is included in the compulsory educational program. Now no one will remember who exactly raised the wave around this delicate and painful topic, but the situation is heating up more and more every day. There are fierce disputes on social networks, sometimes reaching dangerous mutual insults on ethnic grounds, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan and Tatar public organizations are forced to make statements.

A new wave began to grow after a message from Naberezhnye Chelny, which appeared last week. Allegedly, there the mother of one of the high school students wrote an official refusal to study the Tatar language by her child, for which she received approval. Allegedly, her child was told to bring sketchbooks and pencils to school so that at least something to occupy themselves while his classmates will learn the language. In fact, it turned out to be "stuffing" that has nothing to do with reality. However, after this message, widely circulated by the local media, they returned to the language topic again.

Already this week, messages began to arrive from Yelabuga, where parents of schoolchildren began to write massively similar statements to abandon the Tatar language. Today, a message has begun to spread through social networks that the Kazan Jewish school has completely abandoned Tatar lessons, replacing it with additional Hebrew hours. A few hours later, this information was also denied. However, now this is no longer important, because someone skillfully launched a time bomb, which can cause serious consequences.

First, it is obvious that there is a problem in the republic with the study of the Tatar language in schools, and those who care about it have now received very convenient conditions to speak out. Secondly, the authorities of the republic and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, in particular, are now hiding their heads in the sand, stubbornly waving away the annoying answer that “ educational program he does not violate any laws in Tatarstan schools ”. Thirdly, the residents of the republic, who advocate the transfer of the Tatar language in schools to the category of electives, cause undisguised irritation among national patriots and those who sympathize with them. Hence, dangerous skirmishes on social networks arise, in which the phrase is often heard: “I don’t like the Tatar language - a suitcase, a railway station, Russia!”.

Against this background, the authorities of the republic would not hurt to enter into a dialogue with those who ask questions and ask for clarifications, to intervene in the situation and begin to extinguish the flaring fire. But the problem for some reason is diligently ignored, getting off with formal replies and florid wording of laws, instead of calmly discussing this topic with the public. However, the Minister of Education of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov may have big problems with this.

Be that as it may, the question will not "dissolve" by itself. For example, today the "Society of Russian Culture of Tatarstan" (sometimes a very controversial organization) announced the sending of a new bundle of applications to the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the legality of the compulsory Tatar language in the republic's schools. According to the ORK, the appeal contains "evidence of sabotage of Putin's orders and violation of laws."

“As you know, despite the instructions given by President Vladimir Putin following the results of the Council on Interethnic Relations held in Yoshkar-Ola on July 20, 2017, and despite the emphasis of Putin’s address to the heads of regions, Rustam Minnikhanov is the only one among all the other heads of regions. did not react to this. Instead, the Regional Education Minister Engel Fattakhov replied to Putin that Putin's instructions to the Republic of Tatarstan did not apply at all - supposedly here in the language issue everything is within the framework of the laws, although, as you know, language issue in education, it is most acute in this region. It is here that all children, regardless of nationality, are required to take the "Tatar language" subject for 5-6 lessons per week, and the Russian language is reduced by about a third in comparison with other regions " , - noted in the message of the ORC.

As a result, now supporters of the "Tatar elective" in the republic are looking forward to a reaction from the Prosecutor General's Office with impatience and hope. At the same time, the regional authorities await the results of this check with caution, because in the event of an unfavorable outcome for them, there will be nothing to cover. Or will the case go to court?

The Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan called the calls of the parents of students to refuse to study the Tatar language contrary to the current legislation and "misleading". The wave of parental discontent was partly provoked by the opening speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations in Yoshkar-Ola, where the head of state spoke about the inadmissibility of “forcing a person to learn” a foreign language.

STATE AND NATIVE?

In Tatarstan, every parent of a student knows that learning the Tatar language in local schools is compulsory. Some moms and dads, however, try to resist this.

Kazan lawyer Sergei Khapugin went farthest in his intention to achieve the abolition of the study of this subject for his schoolboy son. In the early 2000s, he initiated legal proceedings against the republican Ministry of Education. However, the man lost both processes - the first in the Vakhitovsky District Court, and then in the Constitutional Court.

After Khapugin, a resident of Nizhnekamsk, Victoria Mozharova, defended the right of her children not to learn the Tatar language. The woman allowed her sons, seventh-graders of Lyceum No. 14, to skip this subject. However, the local prosecutor's office recognized Mozharova's actions as illegal and sued her.

Until now, there have been no other striking examples in the republic. And everything would have been the same if it had not been for the July meeting of the head of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, in Yoshkar-Ola at the visiting meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations.

“The Russian language for us is the natural spiritual framework of our entire multinational country. Everyone should know it ... 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 ... "- Putin said then in his opening speech.

Partly because of this, the parents of Tatarstan schoolchildren began to unite in various committees and bombard the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia with letters. Today, the group "Committee of Russian-speaking parents of Tataria" in "VKontakte" already includes 2,800 people. Similar groups exist in Zelenodolsk, Bugulma, Elabuga ...

By the way, samples of applications (group and individual) about the refusal to study the Tatar language are posted in the committee group.

MINISTRY OF BRANCHES EXPLAINS ...

It seems that the regional Ministry of Education and Science could not ignore or ignore the dissatisfaction of citizens. This is evidenced by the "clarification on the issue of teaching the Tatar language in educational institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan" published on September 7.

It is curious that such conclusions in the ministerial "clarification" are made on the basis of the ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 16, 2004 No. 16-P. "The study of Russian and Tatar languages ​​in educational institutions as state languages ​​in the Republic of Tatarstan was recognized as not contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation."

At the same time, the ministry informs that it is taking "measures to improve the methods and technologies of teaching the Tatar language."

No less interesting information is contained in the last paragraph of the "clarification", which states that the Tatarstan Prime Minister "made a decision to bring the volume of Russian language learning from January 1, 2018 to the volume recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation." Whether the regional Ministry of Education and Science thereby recognizes the fact that there is a preponderance in favor of learning the Tatar language remains unsaid. At the time of publication, MK-Povolzhye had not yet received a response to its inquiry to the ministerial press service on this matter.

"THIS IS THE AGONY OF THE MINISTRY"

An explanation is the agony of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan! This is an attempt by a drowning man to grab at straws, - said Mikhail Shcheglov, chairman of the Society of Russian Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, in an interview with MK-Povolzhye correspondent.

According to the interlocutor, “clarification” is an attempt to stop the “wave” of statements from active parents. And a possible relaxation in the form of transferring the subject to the category of optional ones would instantly reduce the attendance of Tatar lessons by 80%.

As we remember, Vladimir Putin instructed the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosobrnadzor to check the observance of the right of citizens to voluntary study of languages. Earlier, he stated that it was inadmissible to reduce the hours of studying the Russian language. Now heads can fly, because a wave of letters from the parents of schoolchildren from Tatarstan has started. Such a folder with letters was received by Vasilieva (Olga Vasilieva, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation - ed.),- says Shcheglov.

According to Shcheglov, the Committee of Russian-speaking parents of Tatarstan and the Society of Russian Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan is preparing a similar folder for the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation.

The chairman of the All-Tatar Public Center (VTOTs) Farit Zakiev believes that the problem with teaching the Tatar language would not have arisen if the Tatar language was initially recognized as the state language in the Republic of Tatarstan.

If we declared it (Tatar language - ed.) the state language exactly 25 years ago, there would have been no problems. This is the task of the same Ministry of Education and Science, the Cabinet of Ministers and the President, the task of the State Council. De jure he is, de facto he is not. The question will be removed by itself and the parents themselves will ask to teach him well, - says Zakiev.

At the same time, the head of the VTOTs admits the obviousness of problems with the quality and methods of teaching this subject in schools in Tatarstan.

Absolutely random people with a diploma in economics, etc., become teachers of the Tatar language. In Naberezhnye Chelny, I met teachers of the Tatar language who themselves do not know the language well. Naturally, students' parents have questions in such situations, he adds.

When asked whether there is an advantage in Tatarstan in favor of learning the Tatar language, Zakiev answered vaguely.

I always give a good example: in Khabarovsk, parents demand that their children be taught Chinese in kindergartens. This absolutely falls on our situation: we can also get parents to demand that they teach Tatar.

Whether the Prosecutor's Office of Tatarstan will detect violations in the issue of voluntariness of learning the Tatar language will become clear before November 30. According to the press service of the department, the corresponding "task" of the Prosecutor General's Office will only "arrive next week."

Recall that by the end of November, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and Rosobrnadzor will conduct an audit on the observance of the right of citizens to voluntary study of languages ​​from among the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia, as stated in the list of instructions of the President of the Russian Federation following the July meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations.

P.S. Today Ivan Klimov, the chairman of the regional council of the "Labor Party of Russia" in the Republic of Tatarstan, sent