The Ukrainian language is gradually disappearing from the education system of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. This was reported by the Permanent Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
“In the schools of occupied Crimea, the study of the Ukrainian language is not offered even as an optional, as was the case in past years of occupation”,- the message says.
The occupiers are doing everything to speed up the disappearance of both the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages. Despite the fact that the occupation authorities officially recognized the Crimean Tatar language as one of the state languages, there are no Crimean Tatar versions of the official website pages, paperwork is conducted only in Russian, it is prohibited to use the native language in the so-called courts, there have been recorded cases of threats to dismiss workers for spoke their native language, which is a violation of articles 2, 8, 15 and 17 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Before the occupation, there were 15 schools and 384 classes in Crimea with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction. The occupation authorities changed the status of schools. Now in Crimea there are 7 schools with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction, 3 with Russian and Crimean Tatar languages.
Education in the Crimean Tatar language is permitted only upon the application of parents. But school administrations create obstacles in submitting these applications. Cases of gross refusal have been recorded, for example, at school 37 in Simferopol in February 2020.
On the 10th anniversary of indigenous languages, it is very important that in the preservation and development of indigenous languages there is intersectoral interaction, that is, indigenous peoples, the state, business and international organizations.