[lg policy] The Belarusian language in education: a reluctant revival?

Fri Oct 14 19:59:11 UTC 2016

The Belarusian language in education: a reluctant revival?

Ryhor Astapenia <http://belarusdigest.com/category/author/ryhor-astapenia> 14
October 2016
Ў is a letter that exists only in Belarusian; it is often used as a symbol
of the language.

On 7 October, Alexander Lukashenka criticised education officials for the
lack of Belarusian language instruction in schools. According to him,
“because of amateurs in the Ministry of Education, it has come to the point
where pupils have six English classes per week, but only two of Belarusian
language”.

Such a statement may come as a surprise, given that Lukashenka is largely
responsible for Belarus's longstanding policy of Russification. In 1994,
when Lukashenka became president, three-quarters of Belarusian school
children studied in Belarusian, compared to only 13.7% now. In
universities, the number of students who study in Belarusian is a mere 0.1%.

The authorities are currently changing their policy towards the Belarusian
language. The appointment of Alena
<http://belarusprofile.com/en/profile/anisim-aliena>Anisim
<http://belarusprofile.com/en/profile/anisim-aliena> of the Belarusian
Language Society to the Parliament shows that the Belarusian authorities do
favour gradual measures promoting Belarusian. However, these measures may
not necessarily lead to a revival of the Belarusian language, but rather
simply prevent it from disappearing from the Belarusian education system.
Lukashenka and Belarusian medium education

In the eyes of many, the person who contributed most to the decline of the
Belarusian language over the past twenty years would be Alexander
Lukashenka. After coming to power, the new head of state re-implemented the
Russification policy of the late Soviet Union, put in place after World War
II.

The Russian language's domination of the Belarusian linguistic landscape
would come as a surprise to those living in Belarus in the first half of
the 20th century. In 1950, 85% of newspapers were published in Belarusian
and in 1955 95% of schools operated in the language. Nevertheless, by 1969
one third of Belarusian pupils were not taught the Belarusian language at
all. The role of the Belarusian language declined until the collapse of the
Soviet Union.

When Lukashenka became president in 1994, three-quarters of Belarusian
students studied in Belarusian. In 1990-1995 Belarus could boast four times
as many publications in Belarusian than ever before in the past 400 years
combined. However, after his election, the leader of Belarus asserted that
"the Belarusian language is an impoverished one" and returned Belarus to a
policy of Russification
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/analytical-paper-belarusian-identity-impact-lukashenkas-rule-16369>
.
Lack of Belarusian language in the education system

Lukashenka’s policy resulted in only 10.5% of preschool children, 13.7% of
pupils and 0.1% students studying in Belarusian medium schools in the
2015/16 academic year, according to official statistics.

None of the 52 universities in Belarus use Belarusian as the main language
of instruction. It seems that the only students whose whole education
programme is in Belarusian are those majoring in Belarusian language and
literature.

Moreover, some teachers are no longer teaching classes in Belarusian due to
the internationalisation of the Belarusian education system
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/attracting-foreign-students-belarus-success-or-failure-26944>.
As one professor from the Belarusian State University told the author, he
no longer gives his lectures on Belarusian foreign policy in Belarusian
because Turkmen students could not understand him.

The case of school children is also problematic, as it is often difficult
to find Belarusian-language teaching materials, calling official figures
into question. On 30 August, Radio Liberty published a video in which a
journalist attended a huge Education Fair and found few publications in
Belarusian on subjects such as geography or computer science. This means
that although schools are supposedly holding some classes in Belarusian,
they are in fact often conducted in Russian.

Many Belarusian cities, including Viciebsk
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/viciebsk-region-%E2%80%93-land-artists-and-terrorists-14372>,
a large regional centre with 350 thousand inhabitants, have no
Belarusian-language school groups at all. In nearby Mahiliou
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/mahilo%C5%AD-region-%E2%80%93-homeland-lukashenka-14674>,
another large regional centre, only one pupil is studying in Belarusian.

This is a contrast to Minsk, where several Belarusian medium schools
remain, and they enjoy a prestigious reputation. In 2016, citizens of Minsk
even *t*ook turns waiting in line in the evening to be the first in the
morning to submit documents to apply for Belarusian medium School №23.
Not letting the Belarusian language die

After the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the Belarusian authorities
have changed
their approach
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/soft-belarusization-new-shift-lukashenkas-domestic-policy-22434>
to the Belarusian language, expanding its use in the public space. In July
2014, Lukashenka made his first speech in Belarusian in decades. However,
official statements regarding expansion of the Belarusian language in
education have so far proved to have more hype than substance.

Even if the government adds one more Belarusian language class per week to
school programmes, it will not change the fact that all other classes will
remain in Russian. Moreover, Belarus lacks higher education institutions in
Belarusian. Therefore, many people do not see the point of learning
exclusively in Belarusian at the school level.

Analysis / Analytical Paper: Belarusian Identity - The Impact of
Lukashenka's Rule
<http://belarusdigest.com/papers/belarusianidentity.pdf>
 The regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka rejected the ethno-national model
of state suggested by his predecessors in the early 1990s. Instead, he
restored a soviet style “statist nation” with a centralised bureaucratic
 machine at its core.Read more
<http://belarusdigest.com/papers/belarusianidentity.pdf>

Lukashenka's words recall previous statements from the Minister of
Education Mikhail Zhuraukou
<http://belarusprofile.com/en/profile/zuraukou-michail-anatoljevic>. After
taking office in 2014, Zhuraukou stated that "geography and the history of
Belarus should be studied in the Belarusian language." However, so far
nothing has changed.

Nevertheless, it is possible that the authorities may be able to slightly
increase the role of the Belarusian language in society. This may be the
reason why the regime appointed Alena Anisim, vice-head of the Belarusian
Language Society, as one of the two democratic leaning MPs
<http://belarusdigest.com/story/editorial-lukashenkas-election-message-west-27204>
to the Parliament. It seems that she lacks any political agenda other than
promoting the Belarusian language.

Moreover, the Belarusian language is no longer a political issue for
Lukashenka, as it was in the 1990s when his Russophile policy opposed the
Belarus-centric vision of the Belarusian Popular Front. Having marginalised
this opposition group, Lukashenka himself can afford to take a more
pro-Belarusian stance. Moreover, he lost his chance of becoming president
of Russia, so his new aim thus became strengthening Belarus.

The leader of Belarus is unlikely to want more Belarusian medium schools,
but one more Belarusian language lesson in Russian medium schools seems
possible. It seems that the authorities remain reluctant to revive the
Belarusian language, but also want to avoid its disappearance.

http://belarusdigest.com/story/belarusian-language-education-reluctant-revival-27561

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