Human rights activists fear coercion of Kabardino-Balkarian schoolchildren to choose Russian as their native language

Human rights activists in Kabardino-Balkaria have expressed concerns about the possibility of schoolchildren being forced to abandon the study of their native languages. These concerns arose after the Ministry of Education refused to provide data on the number of Kabardian and Balkar students who chose Russian as their native language.

The Kabardino-Balkarian Regional Human Rights Center, headed by Valery Khatazhukov, appealed to the head of the republic, Kazbek Kokov, emphasizing that repeated requests to the ministry have gone unanswered.

"The responses received do not contain the requested data. Meanwhile, this information is publicly available, and the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Education is obligated to provide it upon request," the appeal states.

The appeal also notes the possibility of pressure being exerted on Kabardian and Balkar children and their parents to force them to choose Russian as their native language.

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