Georgia cancels teaching in Russian

Georgian schools stop teaching in the Russian language, said Dmitry Shashkin, Minister of Education and Sciences of Georgia.

The closure of Russian sectors is explained by the decision of schools themselves. "Over 90 percent of pupils and their parents decided to continue their education in the Georgian language," Mr Shashkin asserts.

"This is a clear indication of the fact that these children have got integrated into the Georgian education system. Those who want to get Russian can turn to Russian school," the "Georgia-Online" quotes the Minister as saying.

School administrations now see a mass transfer of pupils from Russian sectors to Georgian ones; and their parents believe that by switching over to full teaching of subjects in the Georgian language their children will be able to better integrate into the Georgian society, the RBC (RosBusinessConsulting) writes.

Since April this year Georgian schools stopped compulsory study of Russian; instead, children learn English from their first year at school. It is believed that due to this, graduates of Georgian schools will have more chances to continue their education in Western Europe.