National Projects: What Will Be Done in the Far East? Education and Science

12 September 2018

National Projects: What Will Be Done in the Far East? Education and Science

KEY CONCLUSIONS

The Russian Far East may become the backbone for the export of the country’s education and culture

“It is the Far East that should become the backbone for the export of education and culture of the Russian Federation, due to its economic and geographical position. <...> Over the past two years, the Russian Far East has been remarkable as there is a large number of students who are represented in various spheres of education,” Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.

Modern educational infrastructure is being created in the Russian Far East

“I want to thank my colleagues working in the Far East for launching six children’s Quantorium technoparks in the Far Eastern District in 2018 alone, where over 4,000 children will be educated. These parks have been created in the Amur Region, Kamchatka, Primorye Territory, Sakhalin, Republic of Sakha and Khabarovsk Territory. <...> Additionally, in each of the Far East regions we will create centres for continuous development of professional skills and accreditation centers for our teachers,” Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.

Amount of funds granted to support youth initiatives is unprecedented

“This year the grant fund of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs is absolutely unprecedented: the state provides around 2.5 billion roubles to support youth initiatives in various fields. Every year, the number of young people receiving grants from the regions of the Far East is growing. That suggests that the potential is huge, above all in education. This year, grants to individuals alone amounted to approximately 23 million roubles. And support for education work in the universities of the Far Eastern Federal District — that is 16 universities — the figure was slightly above 50 million roubles,” Alexander Bugaev, Head, Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh).

Digitalization is one of the key points of the national project on education

“Gradual introduction of modern technologies into education processes is particularly important. The largest event, in my opinion, will be the permanent introduction of the ‘Russian E-school’, which will allow each teacher to have access to the best educational practices. <...> We are taking the first steps towards cybersecurity of our children, and if I may say so, “cyberhygiene”. Because that is what we must cultivate in our children when working in a modern digital environment,” Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.

The national project will be implemented on the basis of co-financing from the regions and businesses

“We’re planning that a significant part of the national project’s resources will come in the form of budgetary transfers to the regions, that is up to 65% of the total volume. In absolute terms, that is slightly above 390 billion roubles. We plan to attract 44 billion roubles in co-financing of the national project from regional funds, and 15 billion roubles more from extrabudgetary funds,” Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.

Popularity of secondary vocational education is growing

“Now the share of children who chose vocational training is growing and it is growing rapidly. This means that children understand where their interest towards working professions lies,” Robert Urazov, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for the Development of Professional Communities and Skilled Workers (WorldSkills Russia)

PROBLEMS

Shortage of qualified staff

“We faced the problem of tremendous shortage of staff. We do not have enough staff for the future. <...> The problem of closing this deficit can’t be solved immediately. We have to complete the general system with special features, mechanisms and projects,” Alexander Povalko, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Management Board, RVC

Insufficient attention is paid to the issues of relations between ethnicities

“Without interethnic harmony in the regions of the Far East, investments will not be truly effective. In matters of harmonization of interethnic relations, cultural literacy is the key aspect. The lack of knowledge about the culture, customs, traditions of the peoples living in our country <...> sometimes leads to tension, sometimes to distrust, and sometimes to outright hostility towards representatives of another nationality or religion. Our children do not get this knowledge at any stage of the education process,” Igor Barinov, Head, Russian Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs.

Unequal conditions for access to educational projects

“A problem that is typical for Siberia and the Far East: the travelling costs to major forum platforms that are held in the central part of our country. This burden falls entirely on the regions, and their opportunities vary. In some places they can organize this kind of transfer for participants, but in many others they can’t. That creates unequal accessibility conditions for young people,” Alexander Bugaev, head of the Federal Agency for Youth (Rosmolodezh).

SOLUTIONS

Applying the PPP mechanism for implementation of the national project

“It would be wonderful to have the legal basis for building schools under the PPP programme. Health camps for our children are outdated, the facilities are very old. It is difficult for the regions independently or for the federal budget to raise the funds for construction. So that’s where another real possibility lies in my opinion. Investing resources into education is the investment for tomorrow, and a very short one,” Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.

“Applying the PPP mechanism ensures the creation of modern, high-quality, energy-efficient facilities,” Natalya Tretyak, First Vice President, Gazprombank.

Implementation of vocational guidance programmes

“It is very important not to determine a child’s future now; it is impossible to say what they are going to be good at. The main task is for the person to learn how to build their own future,” Robert Urazov, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for the Development of Professional Communities and Skilled Workers (WorldSkills Russia).

"It is important that within the professional community we understand that it is more important to provide a child with an opportunity for professional testing, rather than trying to drive them into a rut, which we ourselves understand as career guidance," Marina Rakova, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Foundation for Educational Development.

Using the potential of volunteer movement

“In all of our activities, and especially when working with young people, we must nurture an individual. The educational process can’t be separated from the social activity of young people, which without a doubt is at a very high level in our country nowadays. Compared with ten years ago, we are experiencing a serious increase in social activity and, above all, volunteer projects. <...> Support for mentoring and volunteering should not begin at college student or graduate level. That is where we are talking about supporting, developing and promoting volunteerism at school age,” Alexander Bugaev, Head, Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh).

National Projects: What Will Be Done in the Far East? Education and Science

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