VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“The occupational certificate should guarantee the need in the market for a particular profession, as well as a decent salary, and it should also confirm the high skills of a person who holds such a certificate. If we set forth stringent requirements for the quality of training, we will at the same time be raising the social prestige of these occupations and will thereby guarantee respectable employment, just like it's done at the educational institution where we are now.”
“We have established a system of federal higher educational establishments and a nationwide network of research universities. And each of them will be in receipt of additional funding. We have approved a grant allocation programme for talented people, a grant allocation programme for scientists that suggest interesting and promising ideas, strategic ideas.”
“I would like to bring up another important subject that has to do with improving schools and pre-school education. Please note that this also falls under the responsibility of municipal authorities. We have allocated 120 billion roubles for the modernisation of Russian schools over the next two years. What we need to do now is make all the necessary arrangements in conjunction with the regions and purchase equipment, outfit labs, gyms, medical offices and cafeterias. There is certainly the need to follow through on the implementation of the main purpose for the allocation of federal funds, which is to raise the salaries of school teachers. It’s not enough to report about the situation in general in a region or a municipality. Please make sure that each and every teacher sees an increase in his or her salary, without any glitches.”
“Next year, we will continue with our project to support Russian schools and will allocate another 60 billion roubles towards this purpose. Our goal is to bring teachers’ wages to the level of the average wage in all regions of Russia already in 2012. In the next three years, the federal budget will allocate 10 billion roubles to support pre-school education.”
“What are we trying to achieve, after all? We want our children, no matter where they attend school, to receive a high-quality education and a chance to enrol in a university or college. Generally, this means they should be in a position to decide their own fate, as they and their parents see fit. For this purpose, a proper level and good quality of training in schools should be guaranteed, and there are modern facilities that can make this possible.”
“Rehabilitating education will allow us to increase support for universities that have maintained high education standards, and increase investments for their programmes and development projects. Funds that are being used inefficiently today should be used instead to finance state-funded scholarships which are in demand, and to prepare quality specialists that the Russian state and society need most. In this regard, I would like to say that we are launching a pilot project – increasing financing for the programmes to prepare engineers in ten universities of Russia. We will evaluate the results and take a decision on extending this practice”.
“The universities should be made more open. This concerns both the character and the results of the admission process, maintaining high education standards, and assessing the quality of education. Ratings of universities should become an important tool. <…> The rating process cannot be turned into a corporate, backstage procedure. The consumers of education services must get unbiased ratings, and you can get them only by engaging the leading researchers, experts, public figures, and of course, the business community – the consumers of your product”.
“We have envisaged a separate area on qualification standards within the Strategic Initiatives Agency. I very much rely, esteemed colleagues, on your direct engagement. I would very much like you to participate in developing these standards, to turn them into real guiding points that would help fill respective vacancies in the market. We have already had positive experience with this. Currently, a consortium of universities is working with the United Aircraft Building Corporation, which allows for a strict specialty division while preparing engineering personnel”.
“We are planning to adopt a law soon that will expand the powers of the board of trustees of higher educational institutions. These changes involve including representatives from business and the regional executive power on the board of trustees. They will have to take an active role in developing educational programmes in line with the needs of certain territories and specific industries. The respective draft law is being considered by the State Duma and has already passed the first reading”.
“It is very important that while living through such difficult times, we have managed to keep our best traditions alive, and the continuity and quality of higher education intact. For the most part, of course, this was possible thanks to the brilliant work of professors, teachers and university and school teams – their faithfulness and devotion, and awareness of their responsibility for the future of Russia. On this basis, we can set new challenges, improve Russian higher education in line with the demands of time, societal requirements and national development goals”.
“But I am convinced that the Russian education system has preserved its main competitive advantages. <…> Graduates from Russian higher education institutions set the tone in the world's leading centres and high-tech companies, and this applies not only to previous years, there are many fresh examples as well”.
“I am convinced that we all share an awareness of the fact that quality modern education is the guarantee of the sustained development of our country, the foundation for realising one’s potential and for expanding social and economic opportunities for all the country’s citizens, and a strategic resource of Russia that we must strengthen and make full use of. It is thanks to our strong higher education system that our country has scored many successes and come out ahead in the global competition at critical junctures in history…”.
“It should cater for the labour market – local, regional or possibly national, but mainly to the local and regional ones. This requires teamwork from the business community, industry and education. Our top corporations and successful companies, including medium-sized ones, should be in close contact with universities and secondary schools to arrange students’ practical experience and to implement financial support programmes for students. That is the way to interest businesses in employing these students after graduation.”
“Let me inform you that we decided to create a new position: the teacher librarian. <…>It will improve the status of school librarians. Their average salary should increase, just like teachers’ salaries, and reach the regional economic standard.”
“We will absolutely preserve free general education. This is one of the fundamental provisions of our Constitution and nobody is going to relinquish it. The state must and will pay in full for the entire educational process and the upkeep and development of schools, including repairs, the purchase of equipment, and the remuneration of teachers.”
“Its goal [Unified State Exam] is to provide a more accurate assessment of the quality of both curricula and teachers and, most importantly, to considerably broaden the opportunities for children from the countryside and remote parts of the country to continue their education in the best national centres.”
“We have carried out comprehensive programmes for modernising education in 31 regions. In the process, we have accumulated unique experience and streamlined the key mechanisms for developing the Russian school. Most importantly, we have attracted public attention and focused the efforts of the authorities at all levels on the problems of schools and education in general, which is very important as it is.”
“Now we must look ahead, relying on the foundation that has already been created and upgrade the general educational standards in the country. We must make quality, modern education accessible to all children regardless of their family's social status, their place of birth or residence. The government must ensure an equal start to all of its young citizens.”
“Educational programmes and courses at institutions of higher learning and vocational schools must be tailored to the requirements of companies, while students must have an opportunity to undergo practical training at the plants where they will work in the future.”
“Another promising initiative is affiliating vocational schools and colleges with universities so that they can share infrastructure and teaching staff. This will certainly enhance the reputation of these education centres.”
