First Kazakh school teaching in Spanish opens in Astana

Astana, 29 May (EFE).- The first Kazakh school teaching subjects in Spanish, the Royal Lope de Vega Academy, was inaugurated on Monday in a solemn ceremony in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.

“It is an absolute honor to be able to participate in the official opening of the Royal Lope de Vega Academy, the first school to have accredited subjects taught in Spanish,” said the Spanish Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Jorge Urbiola, in an interview with EFE.

Urbiola emphasized that the educational institution “will be a key for Kazakh students to have a direct connection with Spain and Latin America.”

“The aim of our joint Spanish-Kazakh project is to create conditions for young Kazakhs to get to know the Spanish-speaking culture and have the opportunity to receive higher education in the best Spanish-speaking universities in the world,” Urbiola explained.

The Venezuelan Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Enrique Mendoza, who also took part in the opening ceremony, stressed that the Royal Lope de Vega Academy is an “important step towards the integration of peoples.”

The bilingual teaching program will start on September 1st, said Aizhan Kusainova-Oran, the director of the Spanish center Sin Fronteras, who also added that the enrollment process for children has already begun.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the authorities and ambassadors entered the school, where they were welcomed with a shower of sweets, the traditional Kazakh “shashu,” a symbol of good wishes to guests at significant events. EFE

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