8 December 2024
An appeal from human rights advocates to the deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science, and also to the Prime Minister of the Government and the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration
Source: Russian Helsinki Group
The State Duma is considering Bill No. 778084-8 on the enrollment into school of migrant children based on the results of Russian language proficiency testing. The first reading will be held on December 10th.
This bill effectively imposes a ban on the enrollment of migrant children with insufficient knowledge of the Russian language in schools.
In Article 43 of the Russian Constitution it was enshrined that everyone has the right to education. Pre-school and school education are guaranteed to be universally accessible and free of charge. Moreover: basic general education is compulsory. Similar provisions are enshrined in international law, namely Articles 2, 5, and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Articles 4 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
These guarantees, enshrined in Chapter 2 of the Russian Constitution, which is amended only by way of convocation of the Constitutional Assembly, are violated by the bill under consideration. And this means that it represents nothing other than an attack against the foundation of the legal status of the individual in Russia.
To study at school, it is necessary for a child to know the Russian language. But Russia has not yet created a system for supplementary instruction in the Russian language for children from migrant families. Admission to the lower grades of school is often the only effective opportunity for children to learn Russian.
This means that the State Duma is in effect preparing a massive violation of children’s rights to education, as the bill provides for neither additional funding nor the organization of Russian language instruction for migrant children.
In addition, the bill stipulates that foreign citizens must present a document ‘confirming the legality of their stay on the territory of the Russian Federation’ when applying for educational instruction. But the bill does not clarify what this means in regards to children. In practice, this means that it is understood that a child has a registration (residence permit), a migration registration document, which leads to refusals to admit children to the 1st grade of school. At the same time, it is not uncommon for passport offices to refuse to register a child of a foreign citizen. Even a child born in Russia, who speaks only Russian, may not be registered anywhere at all. It is the certificate from the school itself that is now the basis for registration of a foreign child. Thousands of such children already living in Russia will simply not be admitted to school. These children risk growing up in Russia without receiving any education, and will remain illiterate.
The adoption of the designated bill will not only lead to the violation of the rights of migrant children, but will also do harm to the interests of state and society. Instead of a responsible state policy of integration of migrants into Russian-language media and culture, including through education, we will end up with the alienation of foreigners. In such a way, direct damage will be done to the advancement of Russian culture and the Russian language in the world. Every graduate of a Russian school becomes a source of both, but if a child is denied education here, their family is more likely to leave Russia. At the same time, the younger generation, denied integration, easily takes on a criminal or radical aspect.
There have been many methods developed in the world that make it possible for children with various levels of language proficiency to study together, and for child-speakers of different languages to quickly master the language of instruction. It is necessary to apply and develop this expertise, and not to cut off children from basic school education!
Every child should go to school.
On the basis of the above, we demand:
- Dismiss Bill No. 778084-8 (do not adopt the law, publicly oppose its adoption) as contrary to the Constitution of Russia and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Enroll every child into study in general education schools, regardless of the citizenship of the child and the availability of documents confirming the legality of their stay on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as their level of proficiency in the Russian language.
- Create a system of supplementary instruction in the Russian language for migrant children who possess a low level of Russian, providing for budgetary expenditures for these purposes and stimulating volunteer activity in this sphere.
The appeal was initiated and signed by:
- Tatiana Kotlyar
- Boris Altshuler
- Mark Cuperman
- Lev Ponomarev
- Leonid Krikun
- Aleksandr Verkhovsky (Director of the “Sova” Research Center, included in the register of foreign agents)
- Svetlana Astrakhantseva
- Vladimir Breus
- Andrei Suslov
- Anton Khvostov
- Nadezhda Chetaeva
- Natalia Evdokimova
- Karinna Moskalenko
- Igor Toporkov
- Polina Ilyina
- Marina Savvateeva
- Anna Krechetova
- Rushan Ibragimov
- Sergei Belyaev
- Viktoria Gromova
Translated by Alyssa Rider
Update: ‘On 11 December Russia’s parliament voted unanimously in favour of a new law which will deny migrant children a place in school if they don’t speak good enough Russian. The new policy, which will come into effect next April, is the latest in a series of recent moves to tighten up migration legislation in Russia. Critics say it’s a violation of the constitution – which guarantees an education to every child, and they warn the move will stir up tensions and damage integration.‘ Source: ‘No Russian — no schooling: Russia restricts access to education for migrant children,’ BBC News Russian, 23 December 2024
