Chechnya seems to reconsider reducing study hours for its native language.

In a recent statement, Ilyas Taeev, the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Chechnya, has clarified that the hours allocated for studying Chechen in Chechnya schools will remain unchanged. The updated version of Taeev's statement also confirms that the overall volume of Chechen language teaching remains the same.

Taeev's statement was reported by the state-run media outlet Chechnya Today. Previously, five hours per week were allocated for Chechen language and literature in grades two through eight, on the orders of Chechnya's Head Ramzan Kadyrov. However, this summer, Russia's Education Ministry stated that the single hour allocated to the study of native languages across the country, including Chechen, is being moved to non-mandatory extracurricular activities due to changes in the maximum amount of hours children are allowed to be kept at school.

Taeev has moved one hour of Chechen from classroom activities to extracurricular activities. This decision comes after the Russian Parliament adopted amendments to the law on education in July 2018, which provided for the study of state languages within the Russian republics on a voluntary basis.

It is important to note that an earlier article quoting Taeev, stating that hours for studying Chechen would be cut fivefold, was altered without any note of correction on Grozny-inform. The original article, which was published in August 2021, stated that Khozh-Baudi Daaev, the Minister of Education and Science of Chechnya, had announced the reduction in hours. However, Taeev's updated statement clarifies that no overall reduction in the teaching of the Chechen language is taking place.

The Chechen language is spoken mainly in Chechnya, as well as in the Khasavyurt and Novolak districts of Daghestan, in Ingushetia, and in a number of countries abroad, including Georgia, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. According to the Russian Education Ministry's data published in 2021, Chechen is one of the most spoken among Russia's indigenous peoples, with over two million speakers.

Before the start of the First Chechen War in 1994, the number of Chechen speakers was between 750,000 and 950,000 out of a total population of some 1.3 million. The fact that the hours allocated for studying Chechen in Chechnya schools will remain unchanged is a positive step towards preserving and promoting this important language and culture.