The world’s most numerous “educational army” marks World Teachers Day on Thursday. Numerous bouquets of flowers and memorable souvenirs will be presented to 1.5 million Russian teachers on this occasion.
Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko expressed confidence in his congratulatory message that this year “has shown that comprehensive changes in public education, initiated by the national project, have assumed a systematic nature”. “In the near future, they can become a powerhouse of qualitative and positive shifts both in education and in the entire social sphere.”
Around 10,000 best teachers received prizes to the tune of 100,000 roubles each before the holiday in line with implementing the national project. Each prize winner can spend this money for any purpose, which is very important for teachers in regions who receive on average 3,800 roubles per month.
Head of the department of state policy in education Isaak Kalina told Itar-Tass that “teachers intend to spend mostly their prizes for rest at health-building centers and for notebooks”.
Starting from January 1, schoolteachers in most Russian regions will receive increased paychecks. According to experts, salaries of teachers will at least double.
A shortage of young personnel is another problem, agitating teachers. According to the Education Ministry, no more than 10 percent of graduates from teachers’ training institutes work in their specialities, while 12 percent of educators reached a pension age. But despite these facts, there is no shortage of teachers at schools. Every teacher instructs, on average, six schoolchildren, while in Europe these figures average one to fifteen.
In the minister’s opinion, the switch-over to a new system of labour remuneration and aid to young teachers in tackling their every-day, above all housing, problems will help to make the public education system younger and will improve quality of education.
The situation in the public education system has considerably improved on the whole. “Despite numerous shortcomings, we are confidently plodding ahead,” Fursenko said, noting that appropriations from the state budget for education increase with every passing year, while areas of support under the national project are expanding.
MOSCOW, October 5 (Itar-Tass)
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