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Medvedev vows support to young and talented
Published: 19 January, 2010, 17:04
Edited: 23 January, 2010, 00:30
Dmitry Medvedev during a visit to elementary school in Moscow on September 1 (AFP Photo / RIA Novosti/ Kremlin pool / Mikhail Klimentyev)
(5.1Mb) embed videoTAGS: Children, Meeting, Medvedev, Russia, Politics, Law
President Medvedev has said his initiative “Our New School” – the project aimed at modernizing the education system in Russia – will be launched in the nearest future.
Dmitry Medvedev was speaking on Tuesday at a meeting of the Council for the Implementation of the Priority of National Projects and Demographic Policy, Itar-Tass reports.
“I believe that [the “Our New School” project] has been worked out well and I will sign the national initiative in the next few days,” he said.
He said that this year it is planned to allocate more than 15 billion roubles (almost $500 million) from the budget to implement the government’s “plan of primary measures for the modernization of general education in 2010.”
“All measures should be fulfilled completely and in time,” Medvedev stressed.
The president drew special attention to five key points of the project.
First, it is the introduction of a new system of payments to teachers within the next three years.
“It is not only a larger remuneration fund, but also the whole scope of stimuli for those who achieve high results. This should be a modern, decent and reasonable system stimulating teachers to do good work,” Medvedev said.
He reminded that 2010 has been declared the Year of the Teacher and “it is necessary to do our best to stimulate talented teachers and raise the prestige of this profession.”
Secondly, it is the improvement of the quality of education for teachers.
“Thirdly, by summer 2010, methodical recommendations should be worked out to register extracurricular achievements under new education standards. I hope that such registration of achievements will be applied starting from the next academic year,” he said.
The fourth point refers to the improvement of the Unified State Exam system – tests that all Russian school graduates must take in order to get a certificate and, in addition, will replace entrance exams to state universities.
This relatively new practice was first introduced in 2003 to give a chance to talented youngsters from provinces to get higher education at universities of their choice and to help in combating corruption. However, there are still a few shortcomings which have to be sorted out. Therefore, a plan for improvement of the exam procedure was worked out and approved by the president.
Finally, he spoke about “the creation of a system to search for and support young people who have a modern innovative mind and can develop a smart economy based on their knowledge in the future,” he said.
“We should support them from the first results at school, at university and in the post-university period of life,” Medvedev said.
The Russian head of state has instructed the government to annually present a report on the implementation of the “Our New School” initiative.
The necessity to launch the project that would improve the educational system in the country in order to keep pace with the modern world was first voiced by Medvedev during his first presidential address to the Federal Assembly in 2008.
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Absolutely the correct goals, we need invest in education, reward success, allow merit to shine through..... Our children are our investment in the future. But we all know it is a long road we are on, the parents today are 'influencing' the sysetm heavily and the pupils and students have worked out ways around it. There is still the mentality that you can buy anything, and that your parents 'position' will gaurantee an easy ride through education and on to a 'warm' career position. So let's keep walking, give the teachers the remuneration and make them work for it, also give them the authority and resources and back them up. Then face down the parents, when they try to apply the muscle. But also realise that schools are not just about education, they are about value systems in formative years, they are about culture and social skills. They are not just about knowledge and grades. It is a wholistic package. So let's make sure we address these aspects as well, not only with our children, but with their whole families as an extension of our educational establishments. Don't push, just lead and resist impropriety.
I think every student should have an education bank account that can only be spent on their education and activities throughout the year. The money spent should be tracked by 3 independent auditors that way corruption and graft would be kept to a minimium. All receipts for school, supplies, activities should be recorded into the account and any leftover money could be saved invested and used for approved educational trips or trips abroad. This would help students direct their own learning and help them start to understand value for money. If a teenager is 16 and gets good grades and has a clean record, he should be allowed to go on a Safari in Africa, take a summer course at MIT or learn to surf in Hawaii. When students show increasing levels of responsibility and good judgemnet they should be given the opportunity to make decisions about their future education. The excellent care and education of young people should be a national priority and one that everyone should gladly pay taxes for. Putting the onus of responsibility on students, supporting their endeavours and giving them hope for a bright future is the winning ticket to a strong, viable nation. Getting this equation right is what will set one nation apart from another. Get kids moving and excited about their lives. This is where innovation and greatness begins.