Members of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan have proposed to simplify the testing of foreign children for enrollment in general education classes in Russia. A parliamentary delegation from Kyrgyzstan, led by Speaker Marlen Mamataliyev, visited the “Marina Roscha” school in Moscow and learned about the testing conducted for the admission of children of labor migrants. According […]
Members of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan have proposed to simplify the testing of foreign children for enrollment in general education classes in Russia.
A parliamentary delegation from Kyrgyzstan, led by Speaker Marlen Mamataliyev, visited the “Marina Roscha” school in Moscow and learned about the testing conducted for the admission of children of labor migrants.
According to Kyrgyz media, the deputies personally took the test to experience the pressure faced by foreign children.
The deputies noted the complexity of the tasks and suggested simplifying them for children from different language backgrounds where possible. It was also pointed out that some questions and tasks go beyond the knowledge of the Russian language.
“The issue of accessibility of education for the children of our compatriots abroad is very important to us. The conditions of testing must be understandable,” said Marlen Mamataliyev.
Additionally, Speaker of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan Marlen Mamataliyev will hold talks with State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko during his official visit. It is unknown whether Mamataliyev will raise this issue at these meetings.
Earlier, in December 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law stating that children of migrants are allowed to attend school only if their and their parents’ stay in Russia is legal and their proficiency in the Russian language is confirmed by a special test.
However, education specialists and experts criticized this law, warning that it would lead to the exclusion of adolescents from the education system and increase the risk of their involvement in criminal groups.
Despite these warnings, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin called the enforcement of these laws important and stated that additional amendments would be made if necessary.
He also stated that a large number of migrant children were unable to successfully pass the testing or confirm the legality of their stay in the country. As a result, they will not be able to attend schools.
It is likely that the proposal from Kyrgyz parliamentarians will be rejected, just as the earlier request from Kyrgyz deputies for Russia to issue compulsory medical insurance policies to the families of Kyrgyz labor migrants was declined. Russia refused to do so. At the end of January this year, Kyrgyzstan filed a lawsuit against Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union court regarding this issue, but the EEU court also supported Russia’s position in this matter.