Article 14

1.The Parties undertake to recognize that every person belonging to a national minority has the right to learn his or her minority language.
2.In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities traditionally or in substantial numbers, if there is sufficient demand, the Parties shall endeavor to ensure, as far as possible and within the framework of their education Systems, that persons belonging to those minorities have adequate opportunities for being taught the minority language or for receiving instruction in this language.
3.Paragraph 2 of this article shall be implemented without prejudice to the learning of the official language or the teaching in this language.

Education

184. In order to understand the real observation of Human Rights of Crimean Tatars one has to compare the damage caused by deportation and decades of deliberate prevention of repatriation of the Crimean Tatar People pursued by Government with the current situation.
185. There were 386 secondary, 475 incomplete secondary and elementary schools with Crimean Tatar language of teaching in 1936 and in 371 schools in 1941 while the number of Crimean Tatar pupils was about 40 000.
186. According to archive data base 371 schools were closed, 2 pedagogical technical colleges, institution of language and literature was eliminated, 1511 voluntary and school, 112 private libraries 640 elementary and 221 primary school libraries, 200 libraries in collective farms, 30 district and 60 city libraries of Crimea were completely destroyed, 360 reading rooms in villages of Crimea, 263 clubs were closed. all books and textbooks on the language, history and literature, as well as other literature in Crimean Tatar language were collected and burned.
187. Since 1987, after forced liberalization of communist regime of former Soviet Union mass return of Crimean Tatars to their homeland-the Crimea had started. At this moment there were no Crimean Tatar educational institutions in the Crimea. 1987 to 1998 the situation had been changing.
188. Education of children in Mother tongue from childhood is at core of traditional upbringing, an inculcation of love to native art, tradition and culture. For realization of these goals from 1990 under pressure of parents, teachers, local Crimean Tatars communities 3 groups with Crimean Tatar's language of education and upbringing in children pre-school institution in the Crimea began to function.
189. Generally there are 704 pre-school kinder-gardens in Autonomous Republic of Crimea. In 1991- 12 Crimean Tatar groups were appeared, in 1992- 24, 1993- 40, 1994 - 38, 1995-only 25 groups remained. But in 1999 they were reduced till the 20 where only 337 from 25 179 of Crimean Tatar children before 7 years old are educated in Mother tongue and in accordance with national traditions despite the growth of the birth-rate of Crimean Tatar children.
190. The local authorities are spreading propaganda against the education Mother tongue, threaten to parents, that education in Crimean Tatar language in kinder-garden is not perspective (it was explained in the conversations with parents at the meeting in towns; Starry Crimea, Simferopol, Krasnogvardeysky, Jankoy, Krasnpperekopsky and other districts). At the same time, when parents insistently demand to open the groups, the heads of pre-school institutions demand the by Mejlis or State Council on National Minorities and Deported People to provide additional financing. If the children are taught in Russian, the finances are allocated from Crimean republican or local budgets.
191. For example, there are more than 50% of Crimean Tatar children in kinder-garden of village Yasnaya Polyana of district of Jankoy. Parents have unsuccessfully got the opening of Crimean Tatar group. The same situation in villages Medvedevo, Dalokoye of Chernomorsky district, as well in villages Partyzany, Kolchugino of Simferopol district, village Perevalovka of district of Sudaksky. The opening of Crimean Tatar groups in the kinder-gardens of Stariy Krim was obtained through months of demonstrations the parents of Crimean Tatar.
192. The closure of the existing groups, basically connected with financial insolvency of parents to pay for stay of children in kinder-garden. as well, because of the refusal to finance these pre-school institutions by the Government. However, at same time, there are more than 8000 Crimean Tatar children are educated in the active pre-school institutions of the Crimea in Russian language, although according to the law of Ukraine of Education, which guarantee an education in the Mother tongue, the groups and even kinder-gardens in places of compact living of Crimean Tatars could be opened. In case of reorganization of pre-school institutions, first of all, the teachers of Crimean Tatars are dismissed, so far as they were last, who got a job and they have the least record of work in the Crimea. Common record of work, level of education, presence or absences of the children of Crimean Tatars are not taken into account.
193. In 1991-1998 appeared the first classes and schools where the Crimean Tatar language and literature were taught.

Schools

194. Currently, by January of 1999, in Crimea there are:
- 577 Russian schools - 97,9%
- 4 Ukrainian schools - 0,7%
- teaching on Mother tongue for Crimean Tatars is arranged in 7 schools - 1,4% (deep teaching of mother tongue is arranged in other 4 schools, two language (Russian and Crimean Tatar) as major is arranged in 10 schools. So only in 21 schools Crimean Tatar language is really taught as major subject).
195. This is happening while Crimean Tatar pupils are more then 12.7% of all pupils in Crimea.

Classes

196. Russian-speaking children attending the schools are 267961 people.
197. Those of them who are studying in the schools with the Mother tongue (Russian) are 267961 people (100% of all Russian-speaking pupils).
198. Crimean Tatar children attending the schools constitute 38995.
199. Those of them who have classes in the Mother tongue (Crimean Tatar) constitute - 2374 (6.1%).
200. The number of Crimean Tatar pupils who gets mother tongue classes as major totally is 5412.
201. So the Crimean Tatar children who get the Mother tongue in the schools in the form of real teaching are only about 13.9% of all Crimean Tatars pupils.
202. Even in the schools with so called two language teaching system, 1800 Crimean Tatar pupils are made to refuse to learn the Mother tongue because it is taught out of syllabus or while other classes are held.
203. All other Crimean Tatars pupils are studying the Mother tongue in the best case as a foreign language (two hours per week only).

Governmental position

204. Formally in 1997 the Ministry of Education adopted a resolution �260 concerning the development of educational establishments with the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages of teaching. This resolution was not executed as for its realization the executive decisions of local authorities are necessary who don't do it. The analogous resolution N323 is not implemented as well. The Council of Ministers of Crimea motivates it by the lack of finances.
205. Currently according to the information we have at our disposal the Government is going to establish around 2012 schools and only 20 schools are with the Crimean Tatar language based education.
206. The Ukrainian Government uses the situation of the small number of Ukrainian schools in Crimea in order to reject the claims of Crimean Tatars. However:
- after Crimea was transferred under Ukrainian jurisdiction it was Ukrainian Government who did not arrange those schools. It is absurd to put responsibility for this on Crimean Tatars;
- Crimean Tatars are not opposing the establishing of Ukrainian schools, but support this process. But Crimean Tatars are strictly against the juxtaposition of these issues;
- the lack of Ukrainian schools in Crimea is the Government's responsibility of the but not Crimean Tatars because Crimean Tatars didn't destroy any schools;
- the lack of Ukrainian schools in Crimea doesn't create the dangerous of the absolute disappearance of Ukrainian language because there are normal educational system in continental Ukraine with this language. The lack of Crimean Tatar schools in Crimea means the abolition of Crimean Tatar language in principle.
207. In the spring of 1993, the Minister of Education of the Crimea has reduced the number of hours classes in Crimean Tatar language and literature at schools. Crimean Tatar teachers and pupils have announced their readiness to begin the open-ended strike without time limit. Only after this warning the Minister rejected his order.
208. The educational-methodical literature in Crimean Tatar language is practically absent. Teachers are forced to re-write out by hand the books, which are necessary for them. Children's literatures, books with illustrations are not published. There is a necessity to have the 73 kinds of the schoolbooks. Really only 12 were published. The Government's allocations covered only the part of the expenses for these purposes.
209. Despite, that Crimean Tatars pay taxes, financing of all Crimean Tatar schools is not realized from the local budget. So far as the allocations of the Central Government are reduced, the very existence of these schools is endangered.
210. Representatives of Crimean Tatars are out of control for a financing for the schools.
211. In 1991, the Department of Crimean Tatar language and literature, was opened in Simferopol University with general admission of 50 students yearly. After graduating from the University, they get into the same situation in homeland, as in the places of deportation (absence of work by the specialty), so far as are not there secondary schools with teaching in Crimean Tatar language. In 1998 this Department by the decision of University's leadership was transformed into the Department of Oriental Studies. So recently Crimean Tatar language Department in the State University of Crimea was eliminated.
212. The necessity of education of full levels in Crimean Tatar language is not extreme unjustified demand of minority. Objective pre-conditions exist for this formulation of a question.
213. The absence of higher education establishments with Crimean Tatar language teaching puts the pupils of Crimean Tatar schools and classes under the pressure so far as their vital prospects are seriously limited. The matter on higher institutions with Crimean Tatar language teaching should not be considered as a secondary one. They can be created only in the Crimea and only as a result of the special measures. The refusal to create the higher education establishments with Crimean Tatar language meaning the official assigning for Crimean Tatar language of the status of useless value, which condemned to degeneration and disappearance.
214. Higher educational institutions with Russian or Ukrainian teaching as well as in the languages of any other minorities (Armenian, Hungarian, Polish etc.) exist in Ukraine or abroad. The absence of higher educational establishments with Crimean Tatar language teaching is absolute Crimean Tatars are the third group by size of taxpayers. Besides, the material base of educational establishments of Crimean Tatar (buildings etc.), which existed before deportation during decades were used and have been used nowadays by the Government or by the other users, who had received it from the Government after the deportation of Crimean Tatars.
215. See comments to article 5 as well.


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