Let them not teach me: how false teachers get into Russian schools
Monitoring of teacher training offers on the Internet, conducted by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, has shown that it is possible to obtain a retraining diploma for a teacher in a particular subject after formal training or without it at all. Simply put, a person wishing to teach can buy a document on education. And this problem is characteristic not for one region, but for the whole Russia, which was pointed out in the State Duma. But the most unpleasant thing is that the scheme, in fact, remains legal: if it is not easy to get a higher pedagogical education, then to retrain as a teacher - a matter of a few thousand rubles. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Disguising personnel problems
The topic of fictitious diplomas raised at the government hour in the State Duma chairman of the lower house of Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin. He said that schools lack 33% of math teachers and more than 37% of physics teachers, but their absence is masked by the fact that teachers in these subjects are trained "from labor teachers, physical education teachers and others" by simply falsifying their retraining. Thanks to this, the school gets a license.
He called on the profile committee and the Ministry of Education to make proposals on this matter.
"Find the strength to recognize the problems, work out solutions so they become a thing of the past. The firms are in Buryatia, registered in Moscow, the network has entangled the whole country. Diplomas are signed on a family contract", - said Vyacheslav Volodin.
"Izvestia" sent inquiries on the situation with fake retraining diplomas to the State Duma, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Education and Science and Rosobrnadzor. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation stated that this issue is beyond their competence, while the Ministry of Education also reported that they were not involved in monitoring the received diplomas on retraining of teachers and, in general, the issues of falsified education of teachers.
How retraining diplomas are forged
Several firms contacted by the Izvestiya journalist offered to make a retraining document on letterhead for 18,000-20,000 rubles. Some of them are included in the same network we wrote about earlier. The organizations are not even particularly hidden. For example, one firm selling diplomas on its website indicates a specific address where it is supposedly located: Moscow, Malaya Ordynka Street, 27/5-3-3a, p. 4, office 17. Only one commercial organization is registered at the same address (except for the indication of an office) - the printing house Kopi-Group. "Izvestia sent questions to this company.
There are many such portals offering fake diplomas. Roskomnadzor told Izvestia that in 2024 alone it removed illegal materials or restricted access to 26,694 sites and pages on the Internet containing information related to false documents, including education.
How false teachers become false teachers
However, there is no urgent need to obtain fake diplomas. It is possible to become a teacher quite legally, spending less money and a minimum of effort.
The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan conducted its own monitoring of proposals for teacher training. They told Izvestiya that they have been interested in this issue for several years, and with special attention since 2022, when a simplified procedure for licensing distance learning organizations became effective.
-In the course of the monitoring of proposals for teacher training on the Internet, many websites were identified where it is possible to obtain a retraining diploma or a certificate of advanced training after formal training or without it at all," the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan told Izvestiya.
Employees of the ministry called firms engaged in additional education and asked to make "crusts" without formalities in the form of training. And they were met.
-For example, the service of "accelerated training" in one of the organizations involves an additional payment of 500 rubles to the cost of the course and receipt of a training document on the day of payment, - said the press service.
Several organizations engaged in retraining of teachers, interviewed by Izvestia reporter, refused to simply sell the diploma without training. However, the conditions for obtaining a specialty of a school teacher in Russian language and literature turned out to be very simple. For example, one can pay 5,500 rubles, receive training materials designed for 288 hours or 35 days, then take a test on the website - and work in a school.
"All the material is presented in printed form, you read it whenever you want - it's all immediately available. Tests you can pass faster, but we will send the diploma only after the official date of graduation," - told the journalist "Izvestia" in one of the companies found on the Web at the request "take courses on retraining for a teacher" and "buy a diploma on retraining for a teacher".
If you do not want to wait 35 days, you can choose an express course for 21 days (252 hours) and 7 thousand rubles.
"The curiosity of the situation", noted representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tatarstan, is that such organizations formally work within the law. They have licenses, developed programs, training platforms, contracts with trainees, etc. In this situation, even law enforcement inspections do not lead to the termination of their activities.
Teachers interviewed by Izvestiya admitted that they personally know teachers who have received their retraining diplomas in this way, usually to be able to teach another subject in addition to the main one. However, they refused to disclose specific data, noting that "these are not the worst teachers."
Oleg Fedorov, a professor at the Institute of Education of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, noted that "anyone with any higher education can retrain as a school teacher - it is quite realistic to become a mathematician if you have previously graduated from a university of physical education and sports.
How teacher training became a business
Oleg Fedorov emphasizes that professional development and retraining of teachers "has become a big business.
- Quite a large number of organizations in all regions of our country provide such educational services," he said. - Their popularity is due to two different reasons. On the one hand, it is a quick way to acquire the necessary diploma for employment. On the other hand, there is a certain disappointment in the quality of state professional development courses at regional education development institutes, where the content of programs and teaching methods are often far from modern quality standards.
He calls the situation frightening, especially when it comes to teachers of primary and preschool education.
Natalia Tarasova, a leading researcher at the research and educational center for development of the Higher School of Education of the Presidential Academy, notes that there are plenty of examples of such attraction of specialists to schools through the retraining system.
- But there is a high percentage of school leavers among such teachers," she told Izvestiya. - Such a teacher may even know the content of the subject well, but he or she often has huge problems with teaching methods, interaction with the children's collective, communication with parents and the school administration.
Dmitry Kazakov, chairman of the Teacher trade union, says that thanks to such firms, people with secondary vocational education also find their way into schools.
- But principals hire such teachers - where can they go?-because they need to fill the vacancies somehow," he said.
Oleg Fedorov notes that there is also the other side of the coin: for example, when a graduate of a classical university and a leading creative higher education institution has been working in a school for many years, has the highest category, has won awards, but has to get a professional retraining diploma. At the same time, he has to take such courses because "the regulatory framework and management practices" require it.
The expert explained that a license for additional education can be obtained literally in a week. After that, the businessman creates courses, the content of which no one will check, and "teaches" future teachers. Formally, inspections of such organizations are possible, but, admits Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, he has not yet heard about this practice from any of the firms engaged in retraining.
Natalia Tarasova notes that the law "On Education" allows additional professional programs using distance learning technologies, e-learning and in network form - and there are no restrictions on educational programs. It is possible to obtain a retraining diploma remotely for any school specialty. The Ministry of Education and Science has only methodological recommendations for the implementation of additional professional programs using distance learning, which were developed back in 2015.
Viktor Bolotov, academician of the Russian Academy of Education, professor at the Institute of Education at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and former head of Rosobrnadzor, also notes that there are no real tools for verification now. Formally, the education authorities can do nothing, since these firms have been granted the right to conduct training. At the same time, he recalls the experience of the Samara region, where in the 1990s - early 2000s, at that time the Minister of Education of the region, Yefim Kogan, organized certification of advanced training courses - and this allowed, on the one hand, to diversify the structure of additional professional education, on the other - to control it.
How to solve the problem
Oleg Fedorov emphasizes that now it is impossible to simply prohibit private organizations to provide services for additional education.
- It is necessary to work on improving the state system of advanced training and retraining of teachers - when there will be competitive courses, teachers will make their "choice with their feet", - he is sure. - Along with banning such activities by one-day offices, it is also important to introduce a system of qualification exams for teachers - if a person has pedagogical competencies, but graduated from a specialized or classical university, he or she can be certified and confirm his or her skills before the state commission, rather than fake his or her training at courses to get a diploma.
The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan believes that the main importance is to "widely inform the teaching community and heads of educational organizations about the dangers of such fictitious training".
And Dmitry Kazakov is sure that first of all it is necessary to fight for the improvement of working conditions in schools - then people who really want to work there will go there, not those who bought a diploma of retraining.
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