Big change: is it possible to introduce probation for student teachers
In the Republic of Tatarstan, they advocate the introduction of compulsory work for students who have graduated from pedagogical universities in order to confirm their diploma. Previously, this proposal has been repeatedly made both in the regions and in the State Duma, and they are especially actively discussing this topic in relation to graduates of medical schools. Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Chernyshenko stated that he did not object to the soft distribution of state employees. However, if the Ministry of Health advocates compulsory work for medical students, then the Ministry of Education opposed such a measure for teachers. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
10% reach school
Svetlana Zakharova, Deputy Head of the Department of Supervision and Control in the field of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan performed at the All-Russian conference " ".
According to her, of all graduates of pedagogical universities in such specialties as mathematics, physics, chemistry, only 10% reach school.She called these statistics appalling. In the Republic of Tatarstan, low wages are considered the main problem for young people and several measures are proposed. First, grant support at the regional level for teachers, educators, and teachers of secondary vocational education. Secondly, there are benefits for enrolling children of teachers and educators in those educational institutions where they work themselves.
"And the third point: after all, we probably need to come up with a proposal for mandatory testing, as we had before. If a budget student has received a teacher's diploma, it is necessary to work out and confirm their diploma," Svetlana Zakharova said.
Last week сообщалось that Tatarstan's schools and kindergartens lack more than 2,000 teachers. At the same time, about 18 thousand students study at universities of the Republic in pedagogical areas of training, and about 3.5 thousand people graduate annually.More than a thousand more specialists graduate from seven pedagogical colleges.
Why the work-off proposal is relevant
Tatarstan is not the first to make such a proposal. In early February, Ekaterina Kharchenko, Deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, attended the State Duma призвала introduce work-offs for student teachers, doctors, civil servants and social workers. Other regions have made similar proposals.
Especially often they talk about working out lately in the context of medical students, not teachers. This idea is rejected by the health workers' union, but already поддержали in the State Duma Committee on Health Protection. The Ministry of Health is also in favor of this, which was confirmed by Minister Mikhail Murashko on Tuesday:
"In our opinion, today the support and measures to increase the volume of training are insufficient. We need to clearly have measures in place to secure graduates, to work out upon completion of education for medical and mid—level medical professionals," he said, pointing to a shortage of 23.3 thousand doctors and a shortage of 63 thousand nursing staff
At the same time, the other day Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko заявил that "he sees nothing wrong with the distribution", but a soft one when a graduate chooses from several employment directions.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education has a different view on the possibility of any distribution of state-funded students to schools after graduation: the ministry opposed such an idea.
— Implementation of a distribution system...> contradicts the principle of freedom of labor, established by Part 1 of art. 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to which everyone has the right to freely dispose of their abilities to work, choose their occupation and profession," the Department of Personnel Policy of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation told Izvestia.
It is emphasized that this provision is also enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
An alternative to working out is the target set. According to the ministry, in 2024, more than 4 thousand people were admitted to universities for targeted training in pedagogical specialties.
At the same time, Lyudmila Skakovskaya, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, considers the idea of working out to be "important" for both students and employers: the former will solve the difficulties of finding a job, the latter — with a shortage of personnel.
— Of course, the state is interested in a specialist who has mastered pedagogical qualifications at the expense of budget allocations, trying to realize himself in his field," she told Izvestia. — But there is no consensus in the scientific community on this issue. A number of leading scientists and university rectors absolutely correctly assert that coercion cannot be used to get an employee who will work selflessly. It is necessary to continue creating conditions for young professionals.
How many students are employed in schools
According to the Department of Personnel Policy of the Ministry of Education, the total percentage of graduates employed in higher education teaching programs averages 60-70%.
— However, there is a slight decrease in employment one to three years after graduation, — noted in the Ministry of Education.
Oleg Fedorov, a professor at the HSE Institute of Education, told Izvestia that there are universities in the teacher education system where up to 90% of graduates work in schools, but at the same time there are those after which only 10-15% get jobs as teachers.
— Rather, it makes sense to talk about the safety of teachers — more than 60% leave the profession within the first three years, the expert notes. — This means that with a total deficit of 250,000 teachers, more than 750,000 people should come to schools in order to close existing vacancies on the horizon. This is without taking into account the natural change of generations. In other words, the problem is quite acute.
The scientific director of the educational center of the All-Russian Trade Union of Education, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences Rais Zagidullin said that in recent years, the number of teachers has been decreasing annually by an average of 6.2 thousand people, while the number of students has tended to grow by 2-2.6% annually for more than 10 years in a row.
What will the mandatory testing lead to
Oleg Fedorov believes that if graduates are charged with working in schools, this can lead to serious negative consequences, including ethically difficult and contributing to corruption.
Airat Satdykov, Deputy Director of the Scientific and Educational Center for the Development of Education at the Higher School of Economics of the Presidential Academy, calls the introduction of mandatory testing a simple decision that can lead to unpredictable consequences.
— If in Soviet times the institute of compulsory distribution was an integral part of the overall system of functioning of the education system and the planned economy, then its targeted introduction into the modern school system seems to have little effect, he told Izvestia.
He pointed out that unmotivated graduates of pedagogical universities can come to school to fulfill their education, which will not bring high results.
— They do not go to school for obvious reasons: low wages, virtually no career growth, high workload for teachers and overworkers, the specifics of working with children and adolescents, poor quality of school management and management in general in education. It is precisely because of the unresolved problems that yesterday's graduates prefer to work, for example, as tutors," said Airat Satdykov.
Dmitry Kazakov, chairman of the Teacher trade union, says the same thing. He believes that mandatory probation will only "worsen the problem," since then school graduates will not go to study to become teachers.
— There are quite a lot of people with pedagogical education now, and they can, conditionally, be lured to school by a good salary and working conditions," he told Izvestia. — If they introduce such a duty, then there will be no one to lure.
How to solve the problem
Rais Zagidullin notes that now, at least, it has been possible to overcome the negative trend when people went to education out of desperation: the teaching profession is more likely to be recognized as worthy in society, and there has been an increase in the number of applicants entering pedagogical specialties.
Instead of working out, he suggests using approaches that have already been tested in individual universities in the country, when the need for "work at school" is determined by the specifics of the educational program.
— There is an experience according to which all types of educational and industrial practices of a student are combined into a single period of up to one year (from September 1 to May 30). And this is a mandatory educational component of the university's educational program before passing the certification exams and obtaining a diploma," said Rais Zagidullin. — There is no training here, but there is productive work on the formation and development of the necessary professional competencies. Such an experience on the basis of a general education organization may be associated with employment, or it may take place without any formalization of employment relations with students.
At the legislative level, there is nothing to interfere with this practice, said a representative of the health workers' union. At the same time, says Rais Zagidullin, she shows a very high percentage of young professionals in school — more than 75-80%.
Lyudmila Skakovskaya recalled that the law, which gives students of the last courses of pedagogical colleges the right to officially work in kindergartens and primary schools, entered into force in July 2023, and earlier a similar right appeared among students of pedagogical universities.
— But, of course, the issue of retaining specialists in school must also be addressed. Our main argument here should be the level of wages received for the work rate performed," summed up Rais Zagidullin.
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