Abkhaz language lessons launched in Georgia’s Ajara

The Abkhaz language is to be taught in Georgia’s Ajara region, a curriculum novelty that was inaugurated Thursday with visits to two local schools by head of the Ajara government Zurab Pataradze and the country’s state minister for reconciliation and civic equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

One group of Abkhaz language teachers will be assigned to schools in Batumi, the region’s capital, as two more will work in Peria, a village that is home to over 250 Abkhaz and Georgian-Abkhaz families. Lessons will be provided four times a week, accessible to students of all ages.

‘It is our duty to protect the Abkhaz language, culture and identity,’ said minister Tsikhelashvili. ‘Like Georgian, the Abkhaz language is our state language, and we will continue moving in the direction [of protecting it].’

The move comes on the heels of a decision by the Tbilisi-based Abkhaz government-in-exile that saw Abkhaz language lessons launched in four schools in Tbilisi, Zugdidi and Senaki.

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