Pedagogical problem: schools lack experienced teachers of Russian and literature

Russian schools are in dire need of qualified teachers of Russian language and literature, recruitment companies told Izvestia. There is a shortage of specialists both in the regions and in large cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. At the same time, the number of applicants for such vacancies is increasing. There are especially many people who want to teach Russian and literature in private educational institutions where higher salaries are offered. Experts note the high competition for strong wordsmiths in the market. Izvestia investigated the reason for the paradoxical situation.

How has the demand for teachers changed

According to Roman Gubanov, Director of Avito Work service Development, Russian language and literature are among the most sought-after school subjects.

"The demand for exam preparation traditionally increases in the spring, which is reflected both in the interest of the teachers themselves and in the activity of employers," he added.

Experts note that the most noticeable increase in the number of vacancies for teachers of Russian language and literature by the summer is observed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region. Roman Gubanov said that now a verbal teacher who teaches at a private school can expect an average income of more than 128 thousand rubles per month. The relatively high level of salary offers is explained both by the high competition for experienced teachers and the steady demand for individual exam preparation for schoolchildren.

Analysts hh.ru Izvestia was informed that since the beginning of the year, employers — private and public schools — have placed about 2,000 specialized vacancies on the site, which corresponds to the figures for the same periods in 2025 and 2024. At the same time, Moscow and St. Petersburg account for a third of the total volume. In the regions, the demand for language teachers has grown most noticeably over the year in the Amur and Voronezh regions and Primorsky Krai.

Teachers of Russian language and literature remain in demand even after the end of the exam season, said Igor Sannikov, head of the "Training" category of the Avito Services service.

— More than 50% of parents plan regular classes for their children with tutors in the summer — two or three times a week, — said the expert. — Such a schedule helps to maintain consistency in teaching, and gives teachers the opportunity to distribute the workload throughout the year.

Are there enough teachers

The Ministry of Education told Izvestia that the number of unfilled vacancies for teachers of Russian language and literature in state and municipal educational institutions in the 2025/26 academic year is the lowest in the last five years.

At the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year, 124,891 teachers of Russian language and literature worked in public schools; by the next academic year, the staff had slightly decreased to 124,501 people. However, in 2025-2026, the number of teachers increased to 125,102 people, the department noted.

In the five months of 2026, Russian applicants created 8,600 resumes for the positions of teachers in Russian and literature, which is 2.7 times more than in the same period last year, experts calculated for Izvestia. hh.ru .

And the number of people willing to teach these subjects in private schools has increased by 26% since the beginning of the year compared to the same period last year, according to analysts at the Avito Work service. The number of responses to such proposals has also increased: in St. Petersburg, from March to May 2026, this figure increased by 88%, in Moscow — by 97% compared to the same period in 2025.

However, according to teachers and principals, schools lack experienced and strong staff.

Maxim Stepenin, a history teacher from Moscow, noted in an interview with Izvestia that most of the candidates do not meet professional requirements — they have neither the ability to teach nor a sincere desire to work with children. Schools are interested in experienced teachers who are not only well versed in the subject, but can also interest students. And there are very few such specialists now.

According to Izvestia's interlocutors, teachers come to schools with specialized education and even with experience, but often this is not enough: only practice can show how competent a specialist is.

Teachers talk about cases where colleagues have recorded a low level of teaching, and parents have complained that the teacher does not know the program well and that he opens the textbook for the first time before the lesson. In Moscow schools, it is easier to control the teacher's work: cameras are installed almost everywhere and the management can observe the lessons and draw a conclusion about the teacher's professional aptitude. This practice is far from being implemented everywhere in the regions.

At the same time, it is almost impossible to dismiss a problematic teacher — according to one of Izvestia's interlocutors, "unless he comes to class completely drunk." As a result, some of the employees, to whom both parents and the administration have complaints, continue to work. Even admitting their lack of interest in the profession and their inability to keep up the class, they are in no hurry to quit.

Hence the paradox: formally, many vacancies are closed, but this does not solve the problem of teaching quality. According to experts interviewed by Izvestia, schools lack from 5 to 10 thousand. experienced wordsmiths.

The problem of quality and staff shortage

If the teacher is bad, then you can't go anywhere, Maxim Stepenin noted.

— It happens that a teacher has experience, but he does not prepare for lessons, he is not interested in presenting material, he cannot explain his subject to children. As a result, he does not cope, and leaves after a year, the teacher added.

The need for qualified teachers of Russian language and literature has been and remains high, said Tatiana Evdokimova, director of the Luchik private school in Moscow.

"Good teachers are in as much short supply today as good doctors," she noted. — Young professionals aged 25-30 sometimes have seven or ten entries from different schools in their work record. Many people are only interested in comfortable working conditions and salary. And the teaching profession is always an irregular working day.

In addition, teachers of the Russian language have an increased burden — their subject is required for passing the OGE and USE, the private school recalled.

And at the Skolkovo Gymnasium, there is no shortage of teachers of Russian language and literature. According to the administration, the vacancies they have opened this year are related to the planned replacement of employees who go on maternity leave or annual leave. Moreover, talented teachers were quickly found for all available places.

"The market is saturated in this area, and there are many worthy candidates," the gymnasium added.

The demand for strong teachers is now quite stable, Olesya Bormotova, HR director of the Newstaff multiservice company, noted in an interview with Izvestia.

— This is especially noticeable in the field of non-governmental education. More and more private schools, family classes, and centers for preparing for the OGE and the Unified State Exam are opening in large cities," the expert added. — Some teachers are moving from public schools to private ones, because sometimes there is a higher income, fewer students in classes, bureaucracy and more flexible teaching methods. And if a teacher knows how to prepare well for exams, maintain discipline, and show measurable results, he is no longer an ordinary teacher, but a highly competitive specialist.

According to her, there are now enough people with pedagogical education in the Russian labor market, but strong, experienced and effective teachers are in short supply.

"Specialists who are able to simultaneously provide students with an academic base, prepare for exams, and develop speech and thinking are in high demand,— says Olesya Bormotova. She also noted that the work of a teacher is quite difficult: teachers often face high workload and emotional burnout.

In addition to language teachers, many schools lack qualified teachers of mathematics, physics, computer science, chemistry, foreign languages, as well as primary school teachers, the expert believes.