Rector of KRSU Sergei Volkov spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum at a session on promoting the Russian language in the Asia-Pacific region
At the Eastern Economic Forum, a session «Promotion of the Russian language in the Asia-Pacific region» was held, in which the rector of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University Sergei Volkov took part.
Leading experts in the field of education and culture took part in the discussion: Skyeng executive director and member of the general council «Business Russia» Rustam Ainetdinov, general director of the Russian Society «Knowledge» Maxim Dreval, president of the Asia-Pacific Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature Alexander Zubritsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pavel Kuznetsov rector of Pacific State University Yuri Marfin and Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova.
In his speech, Sergei Volkov noted the special role of the Russian language in the educational and cultural space of Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing its status as the official language of the republic along with Kyrgyz. He drew attention to a number of problems: a limited number of schools with Russian as the language of instruction, a shortage of teaching staff and a reduction in the share of Russian-language programs in universities.
«Knowledge of the Russian language significantly expands the opportunities for students. This is the language of science, engineering, communication. But today we are faced with a shortage of teachers and teaching resources. Of the 2,700 schools in Kyrgyzstan, only 274 are Russian-language. The share of programs in Russian in universities has decreased in recent years from 80 to 30 percent», — noted the rector of KRSU.
Sergei Volkov also said that the university is actively working to train new teachers, including in the Russian language, computer science, physics and biology. However, recruitment for these specialties is difficult. In response, KRSU, together with its partners, launched a scholarship program for pedagogical students study programs in the amount of 15 thousand soms, which should increase the attractiveness of the profession.
The rector of KRSU proposed expanding cooperation within the framework of the «Russian Teacher Abroad» programs, developing a network of Russian language centers, strengthening library collections and supporting teachers with housing. It stressed the need for comprehensive measures, including methodological and cultural work, to
«The Russian language needs to be translated not only through education, but also through literature, history, and culture. This should be part of the overall strategy», — Volkov said.
Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova supported the proposals, emphasizing that the development of the Russian language abroad is one of the strategic tasks set by the President of Russia.
«The demand for Russian is growing, and this is obvious among both students and teachers. Only by joining forces can we achieve our goals: by 2030, the number of foreign students in Russia should be at least 500 thousand people, and knowledge of the Russian language will become a prerequisite for their successful integration», — she noted.
The session at the WEF showed that promoting the Russian language in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region — is not only an educational, but also a strategic task directly related to strengthening international cooperation. KRSU's contribution to this work is to train teaching staff, develop joint educational projects and support cultural initiatives.
