All public officials need to know Kyrgyz language from 2019

All public officials of Kyrgyzstan will have to know the Kyrgyz language at a basic level from 2019. Prime Minister Sapar Isakov signed a relevant decree. The Public Relations and Mass Media Department of the Kyrgyz government reported.

The government has decided: state civil servants and municipal employees occupying highest, senior and junior administrative positions are required to know the state language in the volume and at a level not lower than:

• Basic level (A2) — since 2019;
• Intermediate level (B1) — from 2020;
• Upper Intermediate (B2) — since 2021.

From March 1, 2018, mass mandatory testing of all state civil servants and municipal employees will be conducted.

Testing of the state language knowledge for the level necessary for the performance of official duties will begin from January 1, 2019.