OREANDA-NEWS. August 31, 2011. Dmitry Medvedev chaired a meeting of the Commission for the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy on developing school education.

The agenda included discussion of the Our New School initiative, improving the national final school exam (EGE) system, funding matters, state accreditation of schools, and schools’ preparedness for the start of the new school year.

Mr Medvedev issued a number of instructions for the Government following the meeting. They include drafting a set of common criteria for state accreditation of study programmes regardless of the type of educational establishment, ensuring that students’ results are recorded throughout the entire learning period, putting in place the conditions for teachers to do internships, and forming a personnel reserve of education sector managers in all of the country’s regions.

The issue of granting people greater access to high-technology medical treatment was also discussed at the meeting.

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PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Keeping with everything we have discussed today, as I already said, I am giving the Russian Federation Government the instruction to ensure that records are kept of students’ various results and achievements throughout the entire learning period and in the final exams. Students’ performance throughout the entire initial schooling period and from years five to nine, must be taken into account in their overall final results. 

I am also giving the instruction to make the legal amendments required to establish a set of common criteria and common approach for state accreditation of study programmes irrespective of the type of school concerned. Both of these instructions must be implemented by February 1, 2012.

Another thing I already mentioned is the need to get post-graduate students and young graduates involved in teaching their speciality subjects. The business community representatives should also be involved. This is a good idea. The Government has also received an instruction on this.

On the subject of internships, we are to draw up the measures for organising internships [for teachers] in leading educational centres in Russia and abroad (the deadline for this work is longer – it must be completed over the course of the year). We must work at the same time on attracting specialists into the teacher training field. We need top professionals from home and abroad here. This is important too.

Finally, regarding the personnel reserve, as I said to the regional governors, I want this matter included among the instructions coming out of today’s meeting. The Education Ministry and the regional governors will have the task of forming personnel reserves of education sector managers, including school education managers, in their respective regions, so as to have a pool of suitable people at the ready and not have to rush around frantically looking for school principals and study programme heads.

Everything else that we discussed will also be included in the instructions drawn up following this meeting. I wish all of you a good start to the new school year.