In Chechnya, school lessons to be started with anthems, Chechen Ministry of Education reports

At present, the academic week in Chechen schools will begin with the Russian and Chechen anthems. This was reported by the Republic's Ministry of Education. Officials emphasize that the innovation is aimed at increasing patriotism among school children and educating them in respect to the state attributes. Principals of Chechen schools express ambivalent attitudes towards the new direction of the leaders.

The fact that anthems of Russia and Chechnya should be performed every Monday at school lines was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by a source in the Ministry of Education and Science of the Chechen Republic.

"In accordance with the instruction of Ramzan Kadyrov, which he announced at the meeting with school principals of the republic held on May 6, at present, every Monday, Chechen schools will hold common lines and anthems of the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic will be performed prior to the start of classes," the source has reported.

According to the source's information, during the meeting with the leader of the republic, none of the present school principals could remember the lyrics of the Russian and Chechen anthems. "It is clear that the situation needs correction. Not only school principals, but also all teachers and schoolchildren themselves should know the lyrics of the Russian and Chechen anthems. Such things should be taken seriously," the source has emphasized.

The "instruction" from above "has already arrived; however, the question is how to implement it in practice. School lessons begin at strictly allotted time, then, we will either need to shift the schedule for at least ten minutes, or require that schoolchildren should come to school a little earlier. The only smoothing thing is the fact that such events should be organized once a week, not every day," a school principal of a school in Grozny, who preferred to remain anonymous, said in her interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"It is impossible to develop the schoolchildren's sense of patriotism by only performing the anthems on Mondays. The problem is that at present, our country has no clear and coherent ideology, like the Soviet Union had, in spite of all disadvantages of that time. At present, all state officials will rush to learn anthems; however, can it be a measure of respect for the state attributes, if it is done under instruction? At present, in that regard, America with its special attitude towards the anthem, the coat of arms and the flag of the country represents a good example. However, we are still very far away from such attitude," the school principal emphasizes.