Libyans Ordered to Forget English, Try Russian Instead
TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya has halted the teaching of English at “all educational stages,†the official JANA news agency reported today.
Russian is being taught instead, the two-sentence dispatch said. It gave no other details. Libya’s official language is Arabic, and it has long banned English and other foreign languages from public signs.
Officials at Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya’s largest university, burned English and French textbooks on March 27 despite student opposition. On March 27, government television announced the closure of the university’s French and English departments. However, students had said the order was later altered to a phase-out of the programs.
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