Tokaev: Kazakh children should speak both Kazakh and Russian

Contrary to discussions in society, Kazakh children must speak both Kazakh and Russian, declared President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his message to the people.

“There are discussions in society around teaching the Kazakh and Russian languages ​​in schools. I will say it very clearly: we must raise children who are fluent in both Kazakh and Russian,” the head of state emphasized.

According to him, it is in the interests of the generation. “The Ministry of Education should proceed precisely from the interests of children, not be led by populists. The younger generation in terms of acquired knowledge, including language proficiency, must stand firmly on both legs. Their knowledge is our strength,” Tokayev added.

He also proposed the creation of the “National Fund for Children” program, under which 50% of the investment income of the National Fund will be transferred to special accounts for children, the funds from which, upon reaching the age of majority, they can use to purchase housing or education.

The issue of the status of the Russian language in Kazakhstan has been raised repeatedly: in April, Tokayev declaredthat the actions of the so-called language patrols in Kazakhstan, which consisted in “checking” by nationalist activists of the Russian-speaking citizens of the country for knowledge of the state Kazakh language in 2021, are “a provocation on the instructions of the special services.”

In the middle of summer, information appeared on social networks that in the next 6-7 years, classes with instruction in Russian will disappear from Kazakh schools. August 15 Ministry of Education of the country refuted this information to the stopfake.kz portal (created with the support of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic to combat inaccurate data). August 16 Interfax with reference to the Minister of Education of Kazakhstan Askhat Aimagambetov informedthat from the new academic year in Kazakhstani schools, the teaching of first-graders in three languages ​​at the same time is canceled – the Russian language will appear in the curriculum from the second grade, English – from the third. In the program of schoolchildren studying in Russian, both Kazakh and Russian will remain.