18:40 Still fewer hours of Belarusian language at schools

An excited letter by a former history teacher Valyantsina Herasimava from the village of Zhylichy was published in the “Zvyazda” newspaper on the International Mother Language Day. She wrote about the new curriculum where the number of hours allocated for the study of the Belarusian language and literature had been decreased. She also complained to our radio:
“Our language is experiencing a bad time now: I came to the conclusion after having read the information provided by my former school’s head of the curriculum department. They took curricula for this year and the next one.

The time allocated for the study of the Belarusian language and literature is decreasing. Now it is 105 hours per year for the 8th and the 9th forms, and 95 hours for the 10th and the 11th forms.

According to the new curriculum the time will be decreased to only 70 hours per year. It means there will be fewer hours to study the Belarusian literature. I think there cannot be a personality without literature.

I consider it to be a myopic policy. It is a betrayal of the nation, language, state and motherland”.