Russian MP Sultan Khamzaev has proposed downgrading the educational status of English, saying “We need to move away from the pro-Western vector in the Russian education system.”
Studying English should no longer be mandatory in Russian schools, a member of the State Duma from the ruling United Russia party said on Monday. Sultan Khamzaev’s argument is based on the idea that the country needs to move away from the West.
According to the MP, English has become the main international second language because the school curricula in many countries has made teaching it an obligation. Last year, Russia’s education regulator dropped the requirement to learn a second language, but at least one – generally English – remains a mandatory part of every middle and high school curriculum.
“We need to move away from the pro-Western vector in the Russian education system,” Khamzaev told RIA Novosti. “The key to this is removing English from the list of mandatory subjects in secondary schools.”
Last year, Russia’s education regulator dropped the second language requirement, but at least one foreign language – almost universally English – remains a mandatory part of every middle and high school curriculum.
Cornell University most recently announced a hike in tuition prices that brings the school one of the closest to the $90,000 mark, along with almost all Ivy League schools like Harvard.