A/HRC/23/34/Add.1 45. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned, however, at the uneven implementation of constitutional provisions in different regions, including for minorities that may constitute a small proportion of the Federation‟s total population, but a sizeable proportion of the population in a specific territory, and for groups falling outside the definition of numerically small indigenous peoples. This is even more worrying since it seems to be generally acknowledged, including among officials, that cultural homogenization is increasing throughout the country owing in particular to the sheer predominance of the Russian language and culture in the mass media and in written publications. Even in Tatarstan, which stands at the forefront of the defence of local culture, people raised concerns regarding the difficulties of preserving an ethnic language. Various interlocutors felt that they did not receive sufficient support from the federal and regional authorities. In addition, as indigenous settlements are in remote locations, most indigenous children are taught in boarding schools, and are therefore separated, physically and culturally, from their communities. 46. In Altai Krai, where more than 90 per cent of the population is ethnic Russian, officials underlined that the issue of having a language other than Russian for instruction had never been raised. Nonetheless, bilingual schools exist in Russian and Kazakh. The director of one of the two Kazakh national schools in Altai Krai confirmed that measures had been taken to help the community to preserve its culture and language and that, thanks to the support of Kazakhstan, textbooks in Kazakh were available. German, the second most important linguistic group in the region, is also taught as a subject at all levels of education.17 German may also be studied at the German / Russian House of Friendship in Barnaul. 47. The Special Rapporteur was informed that, in the Altai Republic, some programmes support the development of Altai languages, including endangered languages. Only a few hours are, however, actually devoted to teaching the languages. The State reportedly supports the publication of textbooks to enable the teaching of, but not in, the Altai languages. Textbooks in the Altai languages depend entirely on private initiatives and are of poor quality. Courses on the history and culture of Altai are extra-curricular, and the study of the languages is not mandatory. 48. In Saint Petersburg, officials stressed that many communities publish newspapers in their own language. Usually, this depends on the communities‟ own initiatives; however, some who asked for support had received it. 49. Various interlocutors expressed their concern regarding federal reforms on education, reportedly passed despite the disagreement of many regions, in particular, the introduction of a new unified school examination. Previously, the curriculum had a federal component (accounting for 75 per cent of students‟ time, which included the study of Russian history and literature, as well as mathematics); a national/regional or ethno-cultural component (15 per cent; which included the study of the languages, histories and cultures of ethnic groups in the region); and a school component (10 per cent, which enabled school authorities to establish and determine the content of classes to teach the language and culture of one or more national minorities). Although this previous flexible system 17 10 See also the simulation of the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in the Russian Federation (Altai Kray), Council of Europe 2010. Available from http://hub.coe.int/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=2148d22a-e18b-4cf0-a5786d0fbed37424&groupId=10227.