With regard to education in Belarusian, according to the department of education, sports and tourism executive committee Tolochinsky Olga Safranski, the situation in Tolochin District is very optimistic: "All schools in Tolochin District Belarusian - but two Russian rural school gardens and urban schools".

"Urban schools are Russian-speaking. But in the countryside teaching of all subjects conducted in Belarusian, and students in rural schools usually choose the Belarusian language while putting centralized testing. Even in our department all documentation is conducted in the Belarusian" - Olga Shafranskaya explained.

However, when it came to numbers, all the optimism disappears lightning. Although Tolochin District "almost all schools" are Belarusian-language, only 3% of students attend them.

"In our area, 12 secondary, 2 primary schools and 4 base. They account for 2,600 students. However, rural schools with Belarusian small, only 95 students are enrolled. Rest attend Russian-language schools in the cities," - Shafranskaya said.

Nasza Niva