The celebration of Tatiana Day among Russian language students, their teachers and graduates of Soviet and Russian universities was held near Tunis. The event was organized by the Russian House in Tunis.
"On the occasion of the Student's Day a conference on the teaching Russian as a foreign language and education of Tunisian citizens in Russian universities was held in the capital suburb of Gammarth. Three memoranda of cooperation between Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the Republic of Tunisia and the Tunisian Association of Graduates of Soviet Universities, the Tunisian Association of teachers of the Russian language and literature and the Tunisian Association "Russian Heritage" were signed as part of the event," Head of the Russian House in Tunisia Yuri Zaitsev told TASS reporter on Thursday evening.
"The Les Voix du Coeur vocal ensemble performed for the audience, singing traditional songs from different countries in French, English, Arabic and Russian," the agency's interlocutor continued.
The event on the occasion of Tatiana Day was attended by representatives of several educational institutions including the High Institute of Languages at the University of Carthage, the University of Carthage Higher Institute of Tourist Studies of Sidi Dhrif, Russian diplomats, heads and members of Tunisian associations, professors and students of Tunisian universities.
High demand for Russian education
"Assistance in spreading the Russian language abroad and attracting foreign citizens to study in the Russian Federation is one of the priority tasks in the work of Rossotrudnichestvo and its representations, therefore Tatiana Day in Russia celebrated as student's day was a good occasion to discuss these issues with our Tunisian partners. The Republic of Tunisia is the only country in North Africa where Russian has the status of an official language of supplementary education in general educational institutions. This academic year 1,153 students are studying Russian in Tunisian lyceums throughout the country. More than 200 students study our language in institutions of higher education," said Zaitsev.
"This situation directly affects the demand for Russian education, which remains stably high. Given this state of affairs, Rossotrudnichestvo strives to annually increase the number of quotas allocated by the Russian government for foreign students to study at Russian universities. This year 40 Tunisians have the opportunity to go to study or continue their studies in Russia for free," he said.
"As a result of the event in Gammarth, which the Russian House in Tunisia plans to make annual, we managed to reach a number of agreements with our Tunisian partners to work together to improve the quality of screening of candidates and assistance to their future employment in Tunisia after graduating in Russia, increasing the number of high schools that offer the opportunity to learn Russian. We, in turn, will promote quantitative and qualitative growth of training programs for Tunisian teachers of the Russian language. All these areas of our bilateral cooperation are reflected in the signed memorandums, which will provide a solid foundation for their implementation", concluded the head of the Russian House.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS