Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is on a working visit to the Siberian Federal District (Krasnoyarsk) March 29-30, 2010
- On Monday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting on the modernisation of higher vocational education in the Russian Federation at the Siberian Federal University. There will be a live video-linkup with the Far East State Technical University (Vladivostok) and state universities in Novosibirsk, Kaliningrad, Saransk and Maikop.
- As of the start of 2010, there are 673 federal state universities and 651 non-state universities in operation. Besides the 342 universities under the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, there are 61 educational institutions under the Defence Ministry, 57 under the Agriculture Ministry, 47 under the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development, 44 under the Culture Ministry and 28 under the Internal Affairs Ministry.
- Currently in the field of higher vocational education, a process of creating new kinds of educational institutions, federal universities and national research universities, is underway.
Federal universities already exist in the Siberian and Southern federal districts. Executive orders have been drafted to establish federal universities in the Northwestern, Volga, Urals and Far Eastern federal districts on the basis of the country's leading universities.
Approximately 12 billion roubles were allocated from the federal budget in 2007-2009 to develop a network of federal universities. In 2010, 1.274 billion roubles will be allocated within the framework of the priority national project on education.
In 2008, the establishment of a network of national research universities was included in the list of measures to be implemented during 2009-2012 as part of the priority national project on education. In 2009, around three billion roubles were allocated in federal budget funding for the development of 14 selected national research universities. This included 1.76 billion roubles of co-funding.
Another competition has been announced as the result of which 15 more universities will be granted national research university status. A total of 9.8 billion roubles in funding is planned towards establishing a network of national research universities in 2010.
- In 2006-2009, 41.2 billion roubles were allocated from the federal budget for major repairs to buildings and infrastructure owned by educational institutions under the Ministry of Education and Science. This has enabled repairs to over 1.5 million square metres of teaching and laboratory buildings, as well as to local infrastructure. In 2010, four billion roubles were allocated for the same purpose.
Over 50 billion roubles were allocated for the construction of educational facilities under the federal targeted investment programme for 2006-2009. During this period, 113 educational facilities with a total area of 758.9 thousand square metres were commissioned, including 32 hostels, 11 local infrastructure facilities and 70 educational and laboratory buildings. In 2009 alone, 18 hostels with an area totalling of 118,900 square metres were commissioned. So far in 2010, 15 universities under the Ministry of Education and Science have been given new buildings.
In 2010, more than 10 billion roubles will be spent on the construction of educational facilities and the commissioning of 39 such facilities is planned.
- In addition, the Prime Minister will visit one of the car recycling centres operated by dealers, where he will track the progress of the programme to recycle used cars.
In accordance with the Russian Federation government resolution dated March 8, 2010, a used car scrappage scheme is now operational. Citizens who turn their old cars in for scrap can buy a new car from a list issued by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade at a 50,000-rouble discount.
More than 1,500 commercial organisations from 74 regions of the Russian Federation are on the list of car dealers approved by car producers. As of today, 614 car dealers in 123 cities across 71 regions of Russia are participating. The list of recycling points includes 104 organisations from 46 regions.
Russian car dealers have issued more than 23,500 car scrappage certificates in an experimental programme through the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. As of March 25, 2010, 3,744 cars were sold under the programme. Seventy per cent of all applications submitted to buy a car under the programme are for cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ. Of foreign cars, the leading makes are: Chevrolet, Renault, Ford, SsangYong and Fiat.
- On March 30, 2010, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will take part in a plenary session of the interregional district party conference of regional divisions of the United Russia party to discuss "The strategy for the social and economic development of Siberia to 2020: the programme for 2010-2012." The discussion will look for ways to develop the region in the forthcoming period.
Delegations from the regional divisions of United Russia in the Siberian federal district include officials from the executive branch of government (the heads of regions, representatives of the major ministries), legislators, secretaries of regional divisions, city mayors, doctors, teachers, scientists, leading opinion formers and representatives of youth organisations.
