Syrian schools to offer Russian as second foreign language

Syrian regime government announced it will be offering Russian as a second foreign language in schools starting with the fifth grade.

The new decision was posted on Syria’s ministry of education website. Fifth graders will have the choice between Russian and French as part of their secondary school curriculum, Russia Today satellite channel (RT) reported.

The language was chosen because of "sympathies to Russia, from the interest to its great culture,” according to the ministry.

“All necessary preparations for the launching of the Russian language programme at Syrian schools will be completed by the next academic year,” Itar-Tass quoted Minister of Education Hazwan Wazz as saying.

More than 20,000 families in Syria are mixed with at least one Russian parent. At the same time, more than one generation of Syrians received their post-secondary education in the former Soviet Union and Russia, RT said.