It will be a reproach to everyone: children study 16 hours longer than the labor standards for adults

Russian fifth graders spend about 44 astronomical hours a week studying, while high school students spend up to 56 hours, according to a report by the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights. This indicator includes time spent on schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and homework. This is significantly higher than the standard of work for adults — 40 hours a week, social activists say. The information about how much workload is considered the norm for schoolchildren of different ages and why the workload has increased is in the Izvestia article.

What kind of workload do students experience?

The workload of Russian school students from fifth to 11th grade exceeds the permissible standards even for an adult, according to a report by the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (available to Izvestia).

The experts analyzed the recommended standards and found that, for example, with a five-day study schedule, fifth graders spend about 44 astronomical hours per week. This indicator takes into account the length of stay at school and the time spent on homework.

Students in seventh and eighth grades spend about 50 hours a week studying, in the ninth grade the workload increases to 55.5 hours, and high school students study up to 56.5 hours.

— At the same time, an adult worker does not work continuously for 40 hours, so in the report we equated lessons to an astronomical hour, — said the head of the HRC Valery Fadeev. — And our conviction is that the 56-hour workload for schoolchildren is a lot. And the concern of parents who talk about too much workload for schoolchildren seems to have serious grounds.

According to the Labor Code, for an adult, the amount of working time is 40 hours per week. But, according to the report, starting from the fifth grade, the workload for schoolchildren can exceed this norm (in the fourth grade, this figure is only three hours less than the 40-hour limit). For persons under the age of 16, the maximum number of working hours is 24 hours per week.

"If extracurricular activities are implemented in full, already in the fifth grade, the volume of school workload will exceed the volume of an adult's working week, and in high school it will exceed it by almost one and a half times," the report states.

An increase in physical activity has also resulted from an increase in educational workload, the document notes. Schoolchildren are forced to carry backpacks overloaded with textbooks, notebooks and sports uniforms.

"This problem requires the attention of school leaders, and it can be solved by installing individual lockers for storing clothes and textbooks," the HRC experts noted.

Starting this academic year, an order from the Ministry of Education came into force, which adjusted the minimum number of academic hours for educational programs, the report also says. Now the educational process for five academic years should take at least 5.34 thousand academic hours. Previously, this volume was 5,06 thousand.

Why has the burden on schoolchildren increased?

The HRC report notes that the volume of training programs has increased significantly in recent years. For example, in the modern Russian language program for grades 5-9, several dozen new topics have been added compared to the 1957 program.

— Who knows what paronyms are? — Valery Fadeev addressed the journalists during the presentation. — Why are you lowering your eyes? Why are they needed? People with higher education do not know what paronyms are. And I do not know what paronyms are. And why do children learn all these paronyms? Let's also defend our dissertation on the Russian language at school!

The intensity of training sessions also increases when the number of hours allocated to a subject decreases, the document notes.

"For example, the curriculum allocates four hours per week (540 hours in total) to study mathematics in each elementary school class," the report says. — During the Soviet period, 612 hours were allocated for mathematics in elementary schools, and the training lasted three years. Another example: 374 hours are allocated for mastering a modern basic-level physics program, 510 hours were allocated for physics in Soviet times, while the program has significantly expanded since that time."

In addition, due to early profilization (starting from grade 7), the number of hours for studying some subjects at an advanced level increases, respectively, it is necessary to reduce time for other areas.

— There is a question. And where are the grounds? Where did this idea come from, that you can reduce, for example, mathematics and increase social studies? — said Valery Fadeev.

According to him, due to the decrease in the number of hours and the increase in those hours, teachers have to set more homework for schoolchildren.

According to the report, students in grades 4-5 spend about ten hours a week on homework, grades 6-8 — 12.5 hours, and students in grades 9-11 — already 17.5 hours.

There are sanitary standards that limit the time for housework. So, first-graders should spend about one astronomical hour a day on its implementation, students of the second and third grades — one and a half, fourth and fifth - two, sixth and eighth — 2.5, and 9-11 — 3.5.

In addition, the actual cancellation of lessons due to various events also affects the intensity of classes. As a result, the actual number of hours for lessons is noticeably less than planned.

"The modern school has become a platform that various structures use to realize their interests, which are very conditionally related to the educational process," the report says. — The school administration, regional and municipal authorities and other organizations regularly receive requests for the participation of school students in various projects. Teachers are forced to ensure the participation of schoolchildren in a variety of holidays, Olympiads, contests, clean-up days and concerts."

As Valery Fadeev noted, schoolchildren are sometimes "dragged anywhere."

— For example, the assembly line is running, some municipal boss comes and says "Everyone to the rally!". It's weird! And why students can be distracted from their studies. — Ed.)? — asked Valery Fadeev.

The burden on schoolchildren is really related to the large amount of work of teachers, Dmitry Kazakov, chairman of the Teacher trade union, a teacher of history and social studies, confirmed to Izvestia.

— The fact is that now teachers work for two or even three rates. And with such a workload, the teacher is not able to prepare well for lessons, work through the material, and give adequate homework," he explained. — The teacher realizes that he cannot give a full amount of knowledge in the lesson and begins to give large homework assignments, — he noted.

In addition, over the past ten years, the amount of knowledge that students need to learn has increased in modern schools, the expert said. Modern students should, for example, do research work.

— And, of course, science and society are developing in general, and this also contributes to the fact that the amount of knowledge is increasing, — he stressed.

The educational burden falls mainly on the shoulders of motivated children, believes Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, writer Alexander Snegurov.

"Most of the children, for example, do only part of their homework, and some do not do it at all," he noted.

But the expert admitted that, in general, the academic load is "large and unjustified."

"All this puts a lot of strain on the body, on the child's psyche," he said.

Alexander Snegurov believes that it is possible to reduce the overall workload by reducing the number of control and verification tasks, as well as optimizing homework.

— It is necessary that homework is given by teachers according to the age and individual abilities of the child. This optimization can be carried out on the basis of the school with the help of methodologists and pedagogical councils, the expert believes.

In addition, to reduce the workload, it is also possible to revise training programs, Alexander Snegurov did not rule out.

Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education with a request to comment on the conclusions of the HRC.

According to the office of the Human Rights Council, the report will be sent to the government, the State Duma and the Federation Council, the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, as well as to the Russian Academy of Education and leading universities in the country.

— The school curriculum should be such that students do not overwork. Please do it. That's about what the movement of work should be," Valery Fadeev said.

In February 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko asked the Ministry of Education and the Russian Academy of Education to address the issue of balancing the burden on schoolchildren.

Speaking in the State Duma, he said that this aspect will definitely be taken into account in the activities envisaged by the Strategy for the Development of Education until 2036.