Language Dispute Erupts Over New School in Almaty

A heated dispute has broken out over School No. 224 in Almaty’s Bostandyq District. The new school is set to open soon, but for several days, parents have been clashing over one question: which language should classes be taught in? Some insist that instruction must be exclusively in Kazakh, the state language, while others demand that the school offer a mixed-language format.

Orda.kz looked into the controversy.

Residents had been waiting for this new school for several years, repeatedly writing to the Akimat to request it. With new housing developments springing up in the district, school places are in critically short supply.

There’s only one school in our neighborhood, and it’s overcrowded — classes have 40 to 42 students, sometimes three kids sharing one desk. We pushed for this new school ourselves, and now our children can’t get in. They won’t accept them into Russian-language classes, said one student’s mother.

Originally, a residential complex was planned for the site. Only after residents complained did the authorities change the plan to allow for a school to be built instead.

Yet even now, not everyone is satisfied.

Why can’t the largest school be Kazakh? Wasn’t it built so that children could grow up in a Kazakh-speaking environment? In our district, there’s only one mixed school — School No. 65 — and it used to be Russian-only. There are two other mixed schools and just one fully Kazakh school, one parent argued.

School No. 140, where instruction is in Kazakh, isn’t in our district — and it’s overcrowded too, with 35 to 40 students per class, they noted.

Tensions came to a head during a parent-teacher meeting. When residents began making demands of the school principal, one woman called for the school to be made mixed. She was immediately accused of provocation, and the meeting grew heated.

The final decision on the languages of instruction will now be made by local authorities, taking into account the wishes of residents. The Almaty Department of Education announced that applications will open on October 28.

A similar dispute recently broke out at School No. 215, also located in the Bostandyq District.

Original Author: Aisha Aldayar