All in due time: Russia will update educational programs in schools and universities

Russia will update school programs in mathematics and natural sciences and remove all outdated courses that do not meet the needs of the economy from higher education. This was announced by Vladimir Putin on February 6 at a meeting of the Council on Science and Education. The decline in interest in science disciplines has been noted since high school: if the number of those taking the USE in computer science increased by 8%, then in math and physics decreased by 14%. Now, on the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science, preferential educational loans at a rate of 3% will be available only for those entering priority specialties, primarily engineering. On the same day, the president presented awards to young scientists and promised that the plans for spending on the industry will not change.

Changing school programs in mathematics

Vladimir Putin devoted his working day on February 6 to the development of science and education in Russia. The head of state discussed this topic in detail for about two hours at a meeting of the specialized council.

The President instructed to comprehensively update the programs in mathematics and natural sciences, making them "understandable and interesting" for students. Many schoolchildren simply lose interest in these disciplines at the very beginning of their studies, he noted.

- It is important that math and science disciplines fascinate children," Putin said. - But this, of course, does not mean that our children do not have the appropriate talents and abilities to master this knowledge. One of the reasons, as teachers themselves say, is the content of the primary and basic school programs.

This can be influenced by the level of teaching, which should be high throughout the country. The President cited the results of the final stage of the All-Russian Olympiad of schoolchildren, 43% of the winners of which were from Moscow, 14% from the Moscow Region, 8% from Tatarstan and 7% from St. Petersburg. "Four subjects in total. We should pay attention to this. Should we transfer everyone to Moscow to go to school? No, this is unacceptable," he emphasized.

Moreover, over the last five years the number of pupils who choose math and physics as their major subjects has been decreasing: there are 8% more students taking the USE in computer science, and 14% less in math and physics.

- The basis for the country's technological leadership is formed first of all by teachers. This means that it is necessary to seriously increase the requirements for applicants to pedagogical universities in such areas as math, physics, biology and chemistry. In general, we need to achieve a high level of pedagogical and subject training of future teachers," the head of state said.

It is necessary to approach the issue of regulating the number of teachers in schools in advance, taking into account demographic trends, so that in the future there will be no shortage of positions, Putin warned. The Ministry of Education accepted the President's instructions, but drew attention to another problem.

- A law was adopted to reduce the bureaucratic burden, but we see that this law does not work everywhere. We have established five mandatory documents - the minimum - for a teacher to fill out. Therefore, we see that there are certain excesses. Therefore, please ask us together with the relevant authorities to conduct a check and restore the rights of teachers, - said the head of the Ministry Sergei Kravtsov.

What will be the new training programs in universities

Changes will affect higher education. All "archaic and outdated" training courses that do not meet the needs of the economy will be excluded from university programs. Vladimir Putin emphasized that their presence is one of the key reasons why "young people lose interest in their future profession and sometimes even drop out of education altogether. For example, partly because of this, the share of engineering students with incomplete higher education is about 40%, which, obviously, nullifies all the planning of training volumes, the President emphasized.

In addition, between a third and a half of already employed Russian engineers and technicians need advanced training, the president said. Russia is rapidly developing technologies, equipment, software, competitive solutions and systems. Thus, it is necessary to create conditions for continuous competence building of workers, engineers and teachers of technical disciplines.

President of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" Mikhail Kovalchuk drew attention to the fact that Russia is now restoring its technological leadership.

- The President deals with details, engineering education, and talks all the time about our technological leadership. Science has always determined technology, and technology determines the image and power of countries. And we have always been at the forefront," Mikhail Kovalchuk told reporters after the meeting.

Against this background, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov proposed to give the Ministry of Education and Science new powers.

- The acute shortage of personnel in the labor market, and most importantly, the shortage of engineers, requires regulation of paid admission to universities, which today is dominated by economics, management and law. Paid admission should also be aimed at the tasks of the state. We ask to instruct the government to work out the possibility of authorizing the Ministry of Education and Science to coordinate paid admission plans regardless of departmental affiliation," he said.

Falkov also drew attention to the fact that today more than a third of soft loans are issued for paid training of economists and lawyers, which clearly does not meet the demand of the country. The minister proposed to allow the mechanism of educational credit at a rate of 3% only for those entering priority specialties, primarily engineering. Vladimir Putin supported this proposal.

Separately, they also discussed the combination of study and work, which is now becoming the norm for a large number of students. Thus, Vladimir Putin instructed to develop individual curricula for university students working in their specialty, using hybrid formats. He also suggested that when developing the regulatory framework for the new model, the possibility of staged vocational education should be envisaged, so that a student could obtain qualifications already while studying at a higher education institution. The head of state noted: if desired, after receiving qualifications, a student can go to work, and then continue studying under basic or specialized higher education programs - master's degree.

- The same opportunities should be available to graduates of technical schools and colleges who want to become engineers and get higher education in the future," the President emphasized.

As for secondary vocational education, the head of state instructed to legislate a separate model of vocational education and training based on cooperation with key Russian enterprises. The total need in personnel by 2029 will amount to more than 74 million people, the main demand - more than 60% - will be for specialists with secondary vocational education.

Who among young scientists received awards

On the same day in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin presented awards in the field of science and innovation to young scientists for 2024. The ceremony is traditionally timed to coincide with the Day of Russian Science, which is celebrated annually on February 8. At the beginning of the speech, the head of state congratulated Russian scientists on the upcoming holiday and reminded that today Russia expects the scientific community to contribute to the achievement of national goals.

- You are paving your way in science at a difficult time. Like the generation of Russian atomic scientists and space conquerors, both you and your peers, current postgraduates and students, will have to solve really large-scale, inspiring and truly historic tasks in their scale. We are talking about creating solutions and products that will surpass foreign analogues," the head of state said.

Five laureates received awards from the hands of the President on this day. Among them are candidates of chemical sciences Vadim Popkov and Kirill Martinson - they have developed technologies for production of multicomponent ferrites and creation of ceramic materials on their basis. Doctor of veterinary sciences Elena Korochkina was awarded for the development of innovative methods of realization of genetic and reproductive potential of animal husbandry. The merits of candidate of physical and mathematical sciences Konstantin Titov, who created special complexes and means of electronic warfare, providing strengthening of the country's defense capability, were also noted. Doctor of Technical Sciences Natalia Cherkashina is among the awardees. She was awarded the prize for creation of radiation-protective composites for space purposes.

- We have offered strong and flexible materials for protection from space radiation. The basis of the development is a light thermoplastic polymer with additives of heavy nanoparticles. The difficulty in the development was to ensure that the light and heavy fractions do not delaminate, otherwise the composite loses its mechanical properties. To solve the problem, we developed a technique that allows us to cover each nanoparticle with a special film. As a result, they become as if mobile and evenly distributed in the material, - explained "Izvestia" Natalia Cherkashina.

She added that the obtained samples were first tested on Earth. Then in the framework of the target program "Protective composite" - containers made of the obtained material were placed in the cabin of cosmonauts on the Russian segment of the ISS. One product - for two years, the second - for six months. To check how the material protects against radiation, dosimeters were installed inside and outside the containers. As a result, the development confirmed its radiation-protective characteristics. Cherkashina emphasized that the composite will allow people to stay in space at least twice as long as the current norms allow.

Vladimir Putin became more interested in this topic at the meeting with the laureates, which took place after the awarding. In particular, he asked whether the new radiation protection means would allow animals to fly to Mars. Natalia Cherkashina responded positively, specifying that she is currently working on increasing radiation protection.

What has changed in the scientific industry over the past 10 years

At the ceremony, Vladimir Putin confirmed plans to increase spending on science - by 2030 it should reach at least 2% of GDP. In addition, the line of grants for young scientists will be expanded. All this cannot but affect the inflow of specialists into the industry. Today, the share of young scientists going abroad is equal to the number of those returning to Russia: 5-7% leave the country and about the same number come back, said the head of state. According to Gleb Fedorov, a young scientist and senior researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Quantum Systems at MIPT, the situation with material support in Russian science has really improved over the last 10 years. However, there are still difficulties with organization and personnel training.

- There is quite a lot of funding. I focus on quantum topics, but this is a cross-cutting area of science, which affects many related areas. For the last four years we have formed a team of specialists who understand each other well. In general, things have gotten much better. When I started in 2015-2016, there was neither equipment nor people. Now we have a whole layer of middle-aged employees," said Gleb Fedorov.

In addition, the demand for import substitution strongly motivates specialists to create products for domestic consumption, especially against the backdrop of improved communication between scientists and production, said Alexei Karfidov, Head of the Department of Engineering of Technological Equipment at NITU MISIS Alexei Karfidov. It has become easier for scientists to realize their ideas, as the fleet of production equipment is growing and product validation is faster, he concluded.