A modern computer class was opened in the village of Starodubka of the Omsk Region. Now a school with only 62 students has equipment that would make even Moscow schools green with envy.
There are 15 laptops, a multi-media projector complete with a screen and software, three interactive desks, colour printers and acoustic systems. This is a far from complete list of the equipment given to the students of this ordinary nine-year school.
Sergei Loginov, the geography teacher, said: "The young men have become incredibly interested in knowledge. Before, many of them skipped classes and caught crows in the schoolyard, and today, I can't get them out of the classroom. We sit late every day, and they keep asking me to show them something else."
The previously dull geography class has become a favourite subject for village school students, most of whom have never left their region. The interactive desks make remote seas, cities and countries come alive, and the teacher's words become understandable. Now, the classes on physics, history, chemistry, and Russian are also held in the portable classroom.
Tanya Kopninskaya, a ninth grader, asked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to provide her school with modern equipment. During the live question-and-answer session, she kept sending Putin SMS messages: "Our school has only three computers. Could you provide us with some money?"
During the session, Putin promised to supply the school with the required computers.
"Since you have reached me, I consider it my duty to respond to your request. Tanya, as the Old Khottabych, I will provide every student in your school with a computer," Putin reassured the girl.
He fulfilled his promise before long. The first class with the use of modern informatics equipment was held last week. The rural teachers, however, had to learn to work with computers.
"I'm still preparing for each lesson for two hours and learning myself in the process," Loginov said.
Now the children from Starodubka will not have to ride a bus to the neighbouring village to study informatics.
School Director Tamara Melnikova said: "Our students have received opportunities we never could have dreamt of before. The Internet is making encyclopedias, scientific papers, and dictionaries accessible to us. Teachers can communicate with each other and exchange experience with their colleagues, and students can take part in international educational forums and contests."
Tanya Kopninskaya, who was previously derided for displaying too much initiative, is now being pointed to as an example. She has instantly become a local celebrity. After the delivery of the new computer classroom, the destiny of the small school has been resolved, and it will not be shut down for lack of development and opportunity.
By Natalia Graf