2023 was Year of Teachers & Mentors--Putin's Meeting with State Council on Enhancing their Role and Prestige

Much took place in 2023 to celebrate the Year of Teachers & Mentors and many events nationally took place to forward that goal. Before the meeting, Putin “viewed a thematic exhibition dedicated to key events and events of the Year of the Teacher and Mentor. In particular, the President was told about the All-Russian competition of mentors ‘To be, not to appear’ and about the work on training personnel within the framework of the federal project ‘Professionalism.’ Those who’ve kept pace and read the many substack offerings provided since July know of the focus made on education, both basic and life-long including the retraining or perhaps it ought to be termed continual training as many professions are being upgraded at a fast pace due to technological advancements. My appreciation as a former educator for Russia’s efforts is very high as it’s employing many of the best practices, while building on its already strong traditions. Russia isn’t alone with being plagued by a lack of teachers, although it discovered it has many mentors. Some of the problems Russia’s teachers face were discussed at some of the meetings that were reported here as were some of the outstanding efforts to provide excellent educational facilities for both students and teachers at all levels. Putin’s interaction with students, teachers and mentors probably surprised many readers, but that’s been his style for years. It could be said that Putin’s Russia’s #1 schoolteacher/administrator, but I see him as Russia’s #1 mentor. But enough of my preamble. The meeting opens with Putin’s remarks then others follow with their reports:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, Dear friends!

First of all, I congratulate all of you on the upcoming New Year's holidays. I wish everyone good health – you and, as they say in such cases, your loved ones. Let me remind you of today's agenda, which reads as follows: increasing the role and prestige of teachers and mentors.

Therefore, I would like to express my warmest thanks and appreciation to teachers and all those who devote their lives to the development of new generations of Russian citizens. It is in your honor that the current year 2023, which is already passing away, was declared the Year of the Teacher and Mentor in Russia.

Today, teachers, tutors, and employees of domestic enterprises are also present here in this hall, and they are waiting for cadres. Together, we will discuss what additional work needs to be done to develop a broad, truly all-Russian movement of mentors.

Now citizens of all ages and professions are involved in this work: established specialists, students and even schoolchildren, participants of the All-Russian Movement of Children and Youth, our military personnel, veterans of military operations, as well as volunteers and entrepreneurs.

And all these people are united by one aspiration-that the work in which they believe, to which they devote their lives, should be continued. To increase knowledge and experience, preserve traditions and values, develop and advance all those who are engaged in this noble cause, and therefore our entire country.

Such a high and noble meaning of mentoring is reflected in the work of our regions, enterprises, universities, and healthcare institutions, which take patronage and help their colleagues from Donbass and Novorossiya.

A low bow to the teachers and mentors of our soldiers who fight on the front line. They, the teachers, raised these children, brought up real men, heroes, taught them to help their comrades, to be brave, honest, decent people.

"Education, modest in appearance, is at the same time one of the greatest things in history" – these words belong to the great Russian teacher Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky. He wrote extensively about the role of mentors in shaping the worldview of the younger generation. Today we are returning to these traditions, taking all the best that both the pre-revolutionary and Soviet education systems we’re proud of. We are restoring the educational and value component in schools, universities, technical schools and colleges. For our sovereignty, this is just as important as improving the quality of teaching and introducing advanced technologies into the educational process.

And of course, the most important issue here is improving the working conditions of teachers. In this regard, I would like to note that a number of legislative decisions aimed at protecting teachers ' rights have been adopted this year. The geography and scope of pedagogical forums, professional skill competitions have also expanded, which means opportunities for exchanging ideas and best practices of teachers across the country.

I ask the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov today to tell us in detail about the results of the work, the results of the Year of the teacher and mentor.

What do I think is extremely important? We need to look carefully at how all the measures we are taking and planning are being implemented on the ground. Together with teachers and the parent community, look for effective solutions to existing problems. We are again talking about removing non-core workload from teachers, clearly delineating the responsibilities of classroom teachers, and attracting and retaining young, energetic, creative people and graduates of specialized universities in the education system.

Here, of course, all factors are important. This includes mentoring, assistance from senior colleagues, and, of course, targeted support measures. I will give as an example the Novgorod region, where students of pedagogical specialties who have signed a contract for targeted training, the region pays a scholarship of 20-30 thousand rubles. Such regional practices are not an isolated practice – they should be spread throughout the country.

The most important issue is the improvement of the remuneration system. Let me remind you that in 2012 it was decided to increase the average salary of teachers to the level of the average monthly income for work in a particular region. This measure has played a significant role in raising the status of teachers ' work.

At the same time, it is necessary to improve and make fairer the mechanisms of remuneration of teachers. And first of all, significantly increase teachers ' incomes in those regions where they are now significantly lower than the national average.

Teachers ' work should be paid according to the same clear and transparent rules, otherwise a gap in the quality of education accumulates between regions and the shortage of teaching staff increases. It is clear that they pay less, people move from there, and the quality of teaching eventually suffers. All this violates the key principle of equal educational opportunities for our children. We must never forget that.

The situation is obvious: incomes in the region are lower than in the whole country, which means that the teacher's salary is lagging behind. As I have already said, this is losing the quality of education, and the region itself is losing its human and professional resources. And this ultimately leads to a lag in development.

I ask the Government to propose systematic solutions to the problem of teacher remuneration. There are different approaches here, I won't go into details now, Tatyana Alekseevna [Golikova] can tell you. But these different approaches are generally known to those who deal with these issues, and we need to move in this direction.

I also note that educational work, of course, should not be limited to the school. We need to create a complete system of mentoring for children and young people. Be sure to tap into the potential of Sirius, the Russia – Land of Opportunities platform, and the Children and Youth Movement. As I have already said, we should also actively involve military veterans in this work. We have just talked to the guys, and they are here too. We will continue to discuss these issues. You have also seen people talking about this on the front line, almost from the front line, because they understand what it means for the country they are currently defending. We are talking about both their participation in extracurricular activities and teaching the subject "fundamentals of homeland security and protection".

Please pay special attention to the support of children in orphanages. We need to set up mechanisms for their professional training and subsequent employment. See what kind of assistance is needed for non-profit organizations, volunteers, and people who voluntarily take on the mission of mentors and help children and teenagers who find themselves in a difficult life situation. Today we will discuss the experience of the regions and specific proposals in this regard.

Dear colleagues!

Along with educating the younger generation and strengthening our value sovereignty, mentors play a crucial role in developing Russia's industrial and human technological potential.

Historically, our country has a very rich experience of mentoring in production. As early as the end of the 19th century, the Russian system of personnel training was being implemented in the world's leading technical universities.

In the 30s of the last century, the leaders of the Stakhanov movement, which was born in our country, by the way, in the Donbass, became mentors of young workers. By the end of the 70s, the mentoring movement in the Soviet Union already united 900 thousand people, almost a million.

Today, such mentoring traditions are being revived and developed, and at a qualitatively new level: both in private business, and in state – owned companies such as Russian Railways, Rosatom, and some other educational and health institutions.

I also know that such best mentoring practices are planned to be widely used in the work of the federal technopark of Professional education, which opened this year in Kaluga. This is just an example. Teachers, masters of industrial training will improve their skills there, as well as internships for students of pedagogical specialties will be organized.

I would like to note that in the Kaluga Region, mentoring in production has played a key role in accelerated training of personnel, which in turn has ensured a strong industrial growth in the region, allowed us to actually build dozens of enterprises from scratch, and get additional resources for the development of the social sphere. And such experience should be implemented everywhere, throughout the country.

I would like to emphasize that mentoring for the domestic economy means a new quality of growth, reducing costs, increasing labor productivity, and this, as everyone knows, is a key element of the country's development as a whole. This is the training of qualified personnel, which is now critically needed by our enterprises. Our colleagues from the regions know about this, and all our structures are talking about it all over the country.

For each person, an experienced mentor is an opportunity to improve their skills, solve more complex tasks, and therefore qualify for higher wages. In this sense, mentoring is the most important factor in creating a high-wage economy and improving the well-being of our citizens and Russian families.

I repeat, we are now reviving many traditions. And here it is important to keep the spirit of mentoring alive. In no case should this movement be forced into a bureaucratic framework, turned into some kind of forced labor. On the contrary, it is necessary to create such conditions that as many people as possible sincerely strive to take on this honorable mission: to pass on experience, to instruct, and in the best sense to lead others.

The title "mentor" should sound proud. For this purpose, five years ago we established the award "For Mentoring". I propose to establish an annual award "Mentor of the Year". All our regions should also take concrete steps to increase the prestige and status of mentors. I appeal to all my colleagues present here, heads of the regions of the Russian Federation.

Along with moral ones, there should also be material tools to encourage such significant work for the country. Therefore, the possibility of charging surcharges for the work of mentors should be provided for by law.

Further. As part of the Professionalitet program, college students can try out real-world projects at the sites of major enterprises. The same opportunities for student internships should also be created in small and medium-sized companies, including in IT, creative industries, and tourism. This question was also raised by the winners of the Working Professions Championship at a recent meeting. I fully agree with their proposal, and we need to support it.

I also consider it necessary to resume the training of masters of industrial training and teachers of special disciplines, including in engineering and technical universities, with the involvement of real practitioners from production. In addition, the business does not refuse, they are ready to do it. You just need to establish appropriate communications.

In addition, training courses and modules on mentoring, studying best practices should be included in professional development programs not only for employees of the real sector of the economy, but also for teachers and doctors. And of course, managers who work at enterprises, in regions and municipalities.

It is necessary to help exchange experience between organizations, companies, and entire regions. To collect best practices and disseminate them, I suggest creating a platform for the development of the mentor movement on the basis of the Mashuk educational center. Involve both lecturers of the Znanie society and winners of projects of the platform "Russia – a country of opportunities" in its work.

Dear friends!

Always, at all times, the parting words of our great teachers and mentors were imbued with faith in their pupils, in their people.

"Each person is endowed with a huge reserve of creative forces. To awaken these forces is our most important task" – I quote the statement of a person whom I respect, because he created our national sport-sambo wrestling, this is Anatoly Arkadyevich Kharlampiev. He was not only a good coach, but also an educator.

The people of Russia have enormous potential. And we need to create all the conditions so that people of different ages can achieve heights in science, technology, and production, and the fate of our Homeland ultimately depends on the joint achievements of mentors and their students.

I know that regional leaders discussed possible measures to support the mentor movement on the eve of the State Council. We will certainly discuss these proposals today.

The floor is given to the head of the State Council's working group on Education, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Vladimirovich Razvozhaev.

Mikhail Vladimirovich, please.

Mikhail Razvozhaev : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

The year 2023 was dedicated by your decision, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to the teacher and mentor, to the recognition by society and the state of the special status of teachers, to raising the prestige of teachers, to attracting young, energetic and creative people to the profession, and to preserving traditions, experience and continuity in the Russian education system. In the center of the education system is the teacher, class teacher, mentor. The teacher often becomes the very mentor for the child, who guides when choosing the future path of life and helps to reveal the child's abilities and potential.

Today, the homeroom teacher at school again performs not only the function of organizing the educational process in the classroom, but also the function of education, socialization, motivation, and support.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, as you said, the Minister of Education, Sergey Kravtsov, will now report in detail on the results of the year. But on the part of the State Council commission, I would like to emphasize some points of the past Year of the teacher and mentor.

Thanks, among other things, to the decisions that you made at the Presidium of the State Council in 2021, and, of course, to the effective work of the Ministry of Education, and the fact that today the department is fully focused exclusively on the problems of school development, it deals only with the school, the results are significant and tangible. They are felt by everyone: the regions, the pedagogical community, the parent community, and most importantly, of course, the children who go to a modern Russian school today.

Among the most important results, and all our fellow governors agree with this, we can now talk about creating the foundations for a sovereign system of Russian education. In short, without stopping: teacher's work has ceased to be an "educational service", this is the main achievement. The nationalization of historical education in the Russian Federation has begun: the unified national textbook of national and universal history is still available for grades 10-11, but work continues.

Uniform programs for all subjects and corresponding textbooks are being developed. The educational role of the school has been restored, educational advisers have appeared, lessons with children "Conversations about Important Things", which are held in all regions, and the "Movement of the First" has been created.

Unified approaches to managing the quality of education have been introduced. Career guidance classes have been introduced, allowing children to start getting used to the modern labor market from school. Labor education also returned to school this year.

By the way, I wanted to say that in Sevastopol, "Conversations about important things" began with a series of lessons about the "Russian spring", the bitter lessons of the Maidan and the unanimous popular will of Sevastopol residents and Crimeans to be with Russia. Thanks to the Ministry of Education, these lessons were then held as unified federal ones throughout the country and found a great response in our hearts. We have agreed that these lessons will be held annually on the appropriate dates.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

The regions of the country have always done a lot of work to support and encourage teachers. This year, all the governors held a whole range of events dedicated to education and teachers. 470 types of social support measures, including more than 100 measures for encouraging and stimulating teachers, were implemented in the Year of the Teacher and Mentor for the first time. I am sure, as we discussed yesterday, that this trend will not be limited to the title year, but will continue in the regions and beyond.

Our main task, of course – you mentioned it today and gave instructions to the Government – is to raise teachers ' salaries. We also have internal resources in the regions-improving the quality of industry management, using the capabilities of the regions, regional legislation, and, of course, working together with the Government of the Russian Federation to find these tools. Here we ask the Government to add a State Council commission on education, so that we can work together on behalf of the regions.

The presidential school overhaul program, which is gaining momentum, is undoubtedly the flagship of the year. Thanks to the program, we actually get new modern educational spaces. And due to the fact that the program also includes the purchase of equipment, the effect of completely updating the entire material and technical base is obtained. During the seminar-meeting, our colleagues-governors drew attention to some more details of the program to make it even more effective. These proposals will also be announced during the discussion.

Concluding this topic, I would like to say that after the renovation, teachers and children are returning to schools, especially in rural areas. In Sevastopol, last year we renovated a small school in the village of Peredovoye under the program. After the opening of the school, three times more children came and the teaching staff doubled. Of course, these are small numbers in absolute terms, but this is a trend that we record after every major overhaul. Because earlier, parents took their children to the city from these rural schools, because conditions were better there, but now a high-quality educational infrastructure and a modern educational space are within walking distance.

And of course, more than ever this year, a large-scale information campaign was conducted to inform as many Russian citizens as possible about the importance and significance of the teaching profession. These include competitions of professional skills at the All-Russian level, where all teachers are represented, educational activities in the mass media, and the formation of professional communities from active and bright representatives of the pedagogical environment.

By the way, Mr Putin, the TV show "Cool Topic!" – we just discussed it with Ekaterina Andreyevna Sigareva at the exhibition, and she also works for the State Council today – has certainly made the teaching profession fashionable, because in this program whole cities were rooting for our teachers. And of course, we will look forward to watching the final in January and preparing for the next seasons.

I cannot but say, Mr President, about the problem that we have not yet managed to overcome, and you have already mentioned it in your opening speech – about the excessive bureaucratic workload of teachers, first of all, paper loading. It should be noted that this problem is already being solved by the Ministry, and the order of the Ministry of Education defines an exhaustive list of documents that teachers need to fill out. It would seem that in principle this problem should have been solved. But, unfortunately, there are a large number of documents that are not regulated by the law "On Education", and they are still sent to schools.

We discussed this in great detail at a seminar yesterday and would like to ask your instructions to the Government, together with the State Council Commission on Education and the Ministry of Education, to work together and find regulatory ways to eliminate this non-core correspondence.

Turning to the topic of mentoring, I would like to say that as a social phenomenon, it has existed for many centuries in Russia, accompanied people's lives at all stages of social development, representing at its core the process of transferring experience from the older generation to the younger. You also mentioned Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky today. He formulated the main task, the result of mentoring activities – the development of independence of a person entering life, his ability to act without outside help. This thesis, in fact, was the basis for the further development of mentoring both in pre-revolutionary Russia and in the Soviet Union.

There are many definitions of mentoring, but one of them is also a special type of social and pedagogical activity, which includes elements of spiritual and moral education, professional training, and psychological support. It is quite obvious that mentoring is a special phenomenon and is not in its pure form either training or education. A complex symbiosis of the personal influence of a mature carrier of a profession, experience on, as a rule, a young person who is undergoing formation in his professional life. This is always an internal, highly motivated form of interaction between the parties. Both the mentor and the mentee need each other, and both realize themselves through this interaction.

You know, Mr Putin, you have also said that this is a very sensitive issue and it is impossible to over-regulate it. Returning again to the question at the exhibition of our colleague from Fakel [Gennady Abramenkov], who said that we need clear standards, professional standards [to formulate and introduce] into the law, and so on. After all, we discussed this in great detail and for a long time yesterday. We agreed that we should be guided here by the main principle- "do no harm", so that the practice that has already developed today is not devalued or, God forbid, somehow subjected to unnecessary correction.

Of course, you need to start with a long professional discussion of the concept of mentoring development. And today, in order to support the development of mentoring at this stage, Mr President, based on the results of yesterday's work of groups at the seminar-meeting – we had five tables, our colleagues-governors discussed mentoring in various areas in great detail – there are a number of proposals that we decided to submit together for your decision, which we agreed with the Government. I will, with your permission, voice them.

The first step is to introduce, as you have just mentioned, material incentives for employees in connection with mentoring in the labor legislation, that is, in fact, in the Labor Code. Today, this is de facto the case, but it is not called a payment for mentoring. The Ministry of Labor is ready for such an amendment, we discussed it. And after receiving the order, these adjustments can be made.

By the way, I thought that the next step would be to exempt these payments from personal income tax, because this is still a small additional payment in the total salary.

The second is to create conditions for attracting specialists of various profiles from the real sector of the economy to conduct professional classes in schools. This is also what the guys talked about at the exhibition. And the training of mentors could be carried out on the basis of the Russian Society "Knowledge". Also, together with Znanie, it is proposed to form a database of best mentoring practices for their implementation in the system of education, upbringing and youth policy.

It is very important, Mr Putin, as you have also said, to involve people who have made significant contributions to society in the work with young people, especially the Movement of the First. Of course, first of all, these are our guys – heroes of a special military operation, all those who have already paid their debt to the Motherland and for some reason cannot be in the ranks today.

In order to enhance the role of mentoring and mentoring as an activity, we also consider it necessary, together with our colleagues from the Autonomous Non – Profit Organization "Russia-Land of Opportunities", to hold an annual competition "Mentor of the Year" and to organize a discussion of the topic of mentoring at other all-Russian forums and thematic platforms, where this, of course, will be appropriate. Obviously, this will be appropriate at all our economic forums that are being held.

As another non-material but very important initiative, we propose to consider the establishment of a memorable date-Mentor's Day. It is important to continue the traditions of domestic mentoring, which for many years has provided timely and high-quality introduction of qualified personnel to real professional activities.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, concluding the topic of mentoring and my speech and report, I will say the following. As they say, it is not very correct to quote the head in his presence, but yesterday we discussed at the seminar for a very long time, and when we talked about the mentor archetype, the absolute majority of my colleagues called the President of the Russian Federation their mentor. Therefore, as a mentor, I will allow myself to quote you. You said this phrase at a meeting with participants of the All-Russian Forum "I am a mentor", and it is a clear target designation for me personally in this work: "Any professional always dreams that the business to which he has devoted his life will be in safe hands in the future. I think that's what mentoring is all about."

Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank all my colleagues-governors, colleagues from federal authorities, teachers and public figures - for their active participation in the work of the Education Commission and for their active participation in preparing proposals for the State Council meeting.

Colleagues, thank you so much for your attention.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

You mentioned the proposals of Gennady Vladimirovich Abramenkov, Director of OKB Fakel JSC. So he is here, we will give him the floor, he will now once again formulate what he wanted to say.

G. Abramenkov: These are just two proposals that I made at the exhibition. One of the most important proposals is to determine the legal status of the mentor, consider it, make it either in the professional standard or in the labor legislation, so that the industry has more opportunities, the heads of industrial enterprises, based on the norms that have already been defined at the federal level, to determine the requirements for job descriptions and to legal powers of mentors in the workplace – and those mentors that we send to schools and secondary educational institutions.

Vladimir Putin: You heard what our speaker said, Mikhail Vladimirovich [Razvozhaev], and we all heard it, but we will think about it anyway. We have just discussed this at the exhibition.

Thank you.

Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov, please.

S. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

First of all, Mr President, I would like to thank you for your decision to declare 2023 the Year of the Teacher and Mentor – the year of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian teacher and scientist Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky.

I would like to note the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation: at your level, more than 470 measures of support for teachers were implemented for a total amount of over 53 billion rubles. Mentoring is also being actively implemented in the regions and enterprises.

I support the proposal of Mikhail Vladimirovich [Razvozhaev] on the need to develop and approve a concept for the development of the mentoring institute in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030, as well as to strengthen work in this area in the mass media.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

You have repeatedly said how important and vital sovereignty is for Russia in politics, security, economy, and culture. And today it is being strengthened in all its components. In this regard, one of our main tasks this year was to complete the regulatory work on the design of the sovereign education system, on its protection from any external interference. All relevant key changes to the federal legislation have been made. I would like to thank the Federation Council, the State Duma, the leaders of the parties present here and, of course, the Government leadership for their support.

What exactly do we mean by "sovereign education system"?

First, it is a single educational space, aimed at forming a broad outlook of students in all subjects. Today, there is a clear structure of what to study in each class and in each subject, taking into account the national interests of the country, for current and prospective tasks of economic development.

Since September 1 of this year, the country's schools have received unified state history textbooks for grades 10-11. We are completing work on the state history textbook for grades 5-9.

In literature, the federal curriculum includes outstanding works such as Alexander Fadeev's The Young Guard, Sergei Simonov's The Brest Fortress, Vladimir Bogomolov's In August 44, Alexey Tolstoy's The Russian Character, Mikhail Sholokhov's The Quiet Don, and many others.

Since September 1, we have been conducting career guidance classes together with the Znanie Society. Starting from the 6th grade, classes "Russia-my horizons" are held on Thursdays. In these lessons, we also talk about the large-scale international exhibition "Russia", which is currently being launched at VDNH. As a result, this year we have fulfilled the task set by you, Mr President: Russia has entered the top ten countries in terms of the quality of general education. One of the visible evidence for this is the stable success of children at international Olympiads in physics, computer science, and astronomy. The national teams brought full gold sets. In mathematics-five gold medals out of six participants, one silver. Two weeks ago, our team triumphantly returned from Thailand, all six participants of the natural science Olympiad won awards of the highest standard.

The next most important element of a sovereign education system is education. In 2020, in accordance with your instructions, Vladimir Vladimirovich, the education system returned to schools. It is based on the provisions of the National Security Strategy and your Decree on strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.

A unified calendar of educational events has been approved. Every school and college raises the flag on Mondays and plays the national anthem of Russia. This is a truly solemn event. According to sociological research, 88 percent of our country's citizens consider such an innovation correct and important, and support it. We conduct "Conversations about important things". 91% of the citizens of our country speak about the need for such classes. This year, there were lessons dedicated to the unity of the peoples of Russia, family values, and friendship.

Methodological materials "Our heroes" were sent to the regions. This is a whole galaxy of outstanding compatriots, whose names are known all over the world. Such materials also help in the design of school spaces. We also sent relevant recommendations to the regions.

In addition, this year the law stipulates the possibility of involving schoolchildren in socially useful work, and from next year the school curriculum will again include labor lessons. A new subject is also being introduced – "fundamentals of security and protection of the Motherland". Participants and veterans of military operations, the Avangard and Warrior centers will be involved in its teaching, as you said in your opening speech, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

In schools and colleges, the position of adviser to the director of education has been introduced. By the way, the competition for her replacement is three people per place. And almost 60 percent of those who applied are under the age of 35. For three years, almost every school has created a school theater, a sports club, and school museums are open in every second school. We do a lot of educational work together with the Russian Movement of Children and Youth and the Federal Agency for Youth. Comprehensive work in this direction gives a good result.

Today, according to VTsIOM, 95 percent of schoolchildren, which is an increase of 35 percent in three years, say that they are proud of their country, our history and culture. And they don't just talk about it, many people participate in volunteer activities, help our soldiers in the special military operation zone: they weave camouflage nets, make trench candles, collect humanitarian supplies, write letters, send postcards for holidays, including the New Year.

The third component of a sovereign system is a secure information environment. We have learned from the infiltration and influence of Soros-type foundations. Today, the implementation of unproven developments, the presence in educational organizations of any unauthorized persons, foreign agents and structures whose activities are questionable, and the projects have a clearly destructive, including anti-Russian orientation, is unacceptable. Our schools can only use government information systems with verified content. I would like to emphasize that in addition to the traditional, full – time form of education, we have developed and successfully implemented this one together with the Ministry of Digital Development-the Moya Shkola State Information System. We also use regional experience, in particular the experience of Moscow.

The next direction is modern infrastructure, created, among other things, within the framework of the national project "Education". Despite all the sanctions and external restrictions, we are building schools and kindergartens all over the country. Mr President, all your instructions have been completed in full and on time. All primary school children are provided with hot meals.

Together with Elena Vladimirovna Shmeleva, we have created 79 regional centers operating on the Sirius model, opened more than 250 IT-cube centers, 365 quantorium technology parks, as well as more than 17 thousand digital, natural science, technical, and humanitarian education centers, so-called growth points in rural areas and small towns. Thus, we expand the opportunities for students to study physics, mathematics, and computer science in depth, which is important for ensuring the technological independence of our country.

The most important result in this area is the availability of pre – school education, which is 99.4 percent, almost 100 percent, thanks to the commissioning of 1,651 kindergartens. The third shift was completely eliminated in schools, a record number of new schools were opened – 1,179, and more than three and a half thousand schools were renovated.

And finally, the foundation of the entire sovereign education system is teachers, our dear teachers and mentors. We have seriously changed the approaches to the training of teachers themselves, approved unified programs, and synchronized them with school standards. This year, as part of the development of the teacher development system, new qualification categories were introduced: teacher-methodologist and teacher-mentor.

Thanks to your support, Vladimir Vladimirovich, we have re-equipped all the pedagogical universities of the Ministry of Education. As for cash rewards for classroom guidance, they are paid out without disruption, in a timely manner, both in schools and colleges to curators of groups.

Recent amendments to the law "On Education" have significantly strengthened the legal protection of teachers. And, as you know, there is no such thing as an "educational service" in the law anymore. Result: this year, pedagogical specialties took the second most popular place. The competition averaged 11 people per place.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

We are well aware that there are still a number of problematic issues, and not every school has implemented to one degree or another what I mentioned. So, the problem of bureaucratic workload is still relevant. We receive such signals from the field and do not remove this issue from control. Teachers should only fill out the five documents that are legally required. Together with the relevant State Council Commission, Mikhail Vladimirovich Razvozhaev, we are ready to present the results of the pilot project to reduce the documentation and bureaucratic burden on teachers. If necessary, we will promptly work out clarifying amendments to the legislation. Sometimes there are also situations when there is duplication when filling out an electronic and paper journal by the teacher, as well as other documents. We have repeatedly sent explanations about the inadmissibility of this practice. We will help teachers to understand each such case and restore order. Please also ask the heads of regions to help us in this work.

Further – this is, of course, the remuneration of teachers. May decrees play a huge role and are being implemented. But when calculating salaries, there is a certain differentiation. For example, teachers don't always understand what incentive payments are made for. Therefore, last week, the Russian trilateral commission, together with the trade union, approved the names of all incentive and compensation payments for teachers, and systematized them. The teachers have been waiting for this for a long time. We will ensure that the RTC's decision is implemented.

Another important task is to further raise the prestige of the teacher's profession. We will do this more actively and widely, using the opportunities of cinema, television, other mass media, and the Internet. We will also keep the personnel issue under control, especially in rural areas. The Zemsky Uchitel program and early career guidance are very important here. About 80 thousand schoolchildren are already studying in five and a half thousand psychological and pedagogical classes.

In the near future, we will strengthen training in subjects that are not included in the Unified State Exam: music, fine arts, physical education, and labor.

We will develop school tourism, for example, excursion programs in the parks "Russia is my History", expand the educational project "No statute of Limitations", and engage in comprehensive infrastructure development, including in the Donbas and Novorossiya, where regional bosses provide significant assistance.

And I will add that we will involve parents more widely in the educational process, this is our priority, especially in the upcoming Year of the Family.

Once again, I would like to thank you, Mr President, for your support and constant attention to the education system.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Ekaterina Andreyevna Sigareva, a chemistry teacher at a municipal autonomous educational institution, just told me at the exhibition about participating in the TV show "Cool Theme!".

Ekaterina Andreyevna, please.

Elena Sigareva: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear participants of the State Council,

The Year of the teacher and mentor, which united us with a single agenda, bright events and deeds, is coming to an end. The "Thank You Teacher" campaign was held all over the country, where everyone could express their gratitude to their teacher or mentor. And I myself took part in this action with pleasure, expressed my gratitude to my first teacher, who, probably, is the reference point for me, for which I went to the profession of a teacher. I really hope that this event will remain with us for many years to come as a good tradition.

In 2023, more than seven thousand federal and regional events were held, which covered more than 17 million people. In fact, these are colossal and large-scale figures that really amaze. Forums and conferences, contests and TV shows, a Big Teachers ' Week and a Forum of classroom teachers, which brought together all the classroom teachers of our big country, were held all over the country. I was a participant in this educational event, and what is remarkable is that teachers at such events not only learn new things, exchange experience, but also voice those questions and problems that they really care about. And the key thing is that teachers are really listened to.

So, Vladimir Vladimirovich, you have signed a law that contains several innovations in the field of education at once. And the most important thing is that the dominant role of the teacher is established, and the teacher no longer provides an "educational service", but really does what he came to school for – gives knowledge and educates.

Homeroom teachers from all over the country started every Monday with " Conversations about Important Things." And as a homeroom teacher, I also started every Monday with the guys with " Conversations about important things." This project has been implemented since last year, starting from September 1, 2022. And this year it was joined by an equally important and interesting project – "Profminimum", or career guidance activities, which was developed and implemented in all schools by the Ministry of Education from September 1, 2023.

As a homeroom teacher of the 6th grade, I can say that we are already getting acquainted with different professions and different industries. But we also get acquainted with the achievements that exist in our country. And this is also really very important. In fact, the fact that this project has been implemented is really great, because already now children can outline their professional path, understand the vector of their development and where they want to develop, get an education and in what field to work. This is a great project, and I hope it stays with us for a very long time.

It should be noted that this year the number of Teacher's Day awards has increased, as well as the winners and prize-winners of professional skill competitions receive payments. For example, a teacher who participated in the "Teacher of the Year" competition, the winner, received one million rubles. This is also very important, and we appreciate such support measures.

But it is also important where our professional activities are carried out, because we work in a school, and the educational environment in which we work is very important for us. And here in our country, too, a very large and colossal work is being done: new schools are being built, major repairs are being carried out. For example, in our Lipetsk region, a school recently opened after major repairs. And when I talk to my colleagues and young teachers, I understand that they are happy to go there, and they like the technical equipment, the equipment with which they can work.

Also, "Quantoriums", "Growth Points" and "IT cubes"are being opened all over the country. This is also very important, because you can see how much children like to study there, and you can see how they show interest in natural science disciplines.

And if it is possible – to support teachers and mentors of those children who show interest in natural science disciplines and who want to develop in science: in chemistry, physics, and computer science.

Vladimir Putin: How do I support you?

E. Sigareva: Just what you were talking about: the mentoring system and, probably, the remuneration system, some other legislative and regulatory documents that can regulate exactly the area of mentoring of children who are engaged in" Quantoriums"," IT cubes "or"Growth Points".

Vladimir Putin: Do you propose to somehow single out this group of teachers and mentors?

Elena Sigareva: You need to think about it, because I can't answer this question right away. But in general, if there are any support measures, it will certainly be great in any case. This is exactly what Sergey Sergeyevich [Kravtsov] also spoke about today. This is an important point.

Special thanks for the unified state programs and the creation of unified state textbooks. This is exactly what Sergey Sergeyevich said, the sovereignty of education and unity in everything.

Separately, I would like to say and thank you for reducing the documentation load. Indeed, there are no problems with this, and the documentation load is reduced. But, as both Sergey Sergeevich [Kravtsov] and Mikhail Vladimirovich [Razvozhaev] have already said, when communicating with colleagues from other regions, unfortunately, this assignment is not always properly implemented. Therefore, what has been said, if some such issues can be resolved to the end, it will be great.

A lot is really being done for teachers, for their development and professional growth in our country. And the outgoing year – the Year of the teacher and mentor-has once again confirmed this.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Let's take a look at how the work is going in the regions. Solodov Vladimir Viktorovich, please.

Vladimir : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Throughout 2023, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, a very large complex work has been carried out by the regions, as my colleagues have already mentioned. But I can repeat that the figures speak for themselves, and we can safely say that the Year of the Teacher and Mentor has resonated throughout the country. At the same time, we understand that social trends have a certain inertia, and, of course, it is simply impossible to solve the issue of increasing the prestige of the teaching profession within one year. Therefore, I would also like to join in the discussion that it is very important to continue working after the end of the calendar year itself in order to achieve long-term results. Here I would also like to mention those projects that attract public attention, which Ekaterina Andreyevna [Sigareva] spoke about-a wonderful project "Thank you to the Teacher".

I would like to add a few words about professional competitions – competitions of professional pedagogical skills. This year, they have become more comprehensive and are now an objective assessment tool. At the same time, participation in competitions motivates to improve professionalism and creates an opportunity for objective public recognition of the best teachers. This is especially true for young teachers, who need to see opportunities for professional growth and understand the rules that guide career and social elevators. It is proposed to link the assignment of qualification categories for young teachers to the results of professional competitions, possibly expanding the number of such categories, and you can also use the results as a basis for financial incentives.

Another example is the competition "Flagships of Education", which this year was implemented on the platform"Russia – a country of opportunities". This competition shows that it can be a tool for the formation of both a talent pool and the development of management teams in schools. Educational programs for the personnel management reserve in the field of education are already in high demand today, and I would like to suggest continuing them.

What has already been clearly achieved is, of course, an increase in the attractiveness and prestige of teacher education, both in universities and colleges. For 12 years, the average USE score for admission to pedagogical specialties has increased by 10 points and exceeds the average admission score. Separately, I would like to emphasize that the volume of paid admission is also growing, it has increased by two and a half times.

We can state today that we managed to reverse the situation when the pedagogical university was chosen by applicants on a residual basis – on the principle of "nowhere to go". Today, when I talk to first-and second-year students, I see motivated, bright, active students who are interested in working as teachers. This is confirmed, Mr Putin, by sociological studies: more than 60 percent of children choose teaching professions precisely because of their interest in this activity.

This is also our main task for the future – to make sure that active young teachers-graduates of universities-come to schools.

So far, this problem has not been fully solved. Unfortunately, the trend of aging of the teaching staff in schools as a whole remains, which means that we need additional, as you rightly noted in your opening speech, targeted measures to support young people: a program for adapting yesterday's students to schools and an internal mentoring system.

I will give you an example of the Kamchatka Territory-the region that I lead. Here, systematic work has allowed us to increase the share of young teachers under the age of 30 to 17.3 percent. This is 70 percent higher than the national average.

I would like to give another concrete example – this is a small Kamchatka rural school in Nikolaevka, a village in the Yelizovsky district. In five years, this rural school has produced two teachers-laureates of the All-Russian Teacher of the Year competition, and every year students become winners of regional and federal competitions and Olympiads. Thanks to what? Work on attracting young teachers, creating what is called a "favorable moral climate and atmosphere".

In this regard, I believe that the program of attracting and adapting young teachers should be in the focus of attention of all school principals in the country. Perhaps it should also be fixed as an indicator of efficiency in productive contracts.

Ekaterina Andreyevna [Sigareva] has already said that updating the material base plays a big role for young people. Once again, I would like to thank you for the school overhaul program. And I would like to make a proposal-to expand it to school territories, to include the possibility of adding school territory to the capital repair project. After all, we understand that the educational environment does not end with the building itself, but objectively it is the school spaces that often remain a problem area. It is very important that students of the pedagogical profile themselves are involved in designing school repairs, so that future teachers can formulate a request for a "dream school". By the way, Mr Putin, a project with this name is already being implemented in a number of regions, and in my opinion, it should be supported and expanded.

Of course, young people are also concerned about the level of wages, as my colleagues said. It is important that the additional payments and support measures that Sergey Kravtsov mentioned are maintained in the future and remain a priority at both the federal and regional levels.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, in conclusion, I would like to make another suggestion on the topic of mentoring. We see a very active interest on the part of our citizens in this topic. For example, for queries in the Yandex search engine, there are about 450 impressions per month on the topic of mentoring. At the same time, the main barrier is simple: how to find a mentor in practice or find someone who needs a mentor? We already have experience in this area, in the related field of volunteering, where the platform " Dobro.Russian Federation" allowed to increase the number of volunteers by 10 times.

In this regard, I have a proposal to create a platform for mentors based on it, which will allow you to pass verification of operators, exchange best practices, find mentors or mentors, and unite the community involved in mentoring activities together. In this case, we could use the indicators of this platform as an objective metric, an assessment of the development of mentoring in the country. Please support us.

Thanks for attention.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you for the suggestion and the idea. We often say and almost always say that education should be linked to the needs of the labor market first of all.

Please, Alexander Anatolyevich Borisov, Chief Designer of Istok Joint Stock Company.

A. Borisov: General Designer Alexander Anatolyevich Borisov.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear participants of the State Council,

Mentoring did not come about by itself, but as a way to ensure the survival of our ancestors by transferring life skills, abilities and knowledge to survive and develop, to create a sovereign society, our Homeland.

In a period of critical changes, when it is necessary to make important and correct decisions quickly, it is especially important to have a strong team of mentors, professionals in their field, who, having a historical memory that excludes everything false and alluvial, based on true values and historical facts, do not allow losing the moral and professional life guidelines for the correct development of society.

Our company, created on July 4, 1943, one day before the beginning of the victorious, crucial Battle of Kursk, in order to ensure superiority over the German-Fascist invaders, was lucky to have such people. Mentors who, by their example, but already in the period of 80-90-ies, when Russia was in turmoil, poor conditions, often without means of subsistence, did not run away from the enterprise for a better life. United around it, going to their workplaces every day, they developed and mass-produced devices and devices that today ensure the inaccessibility of our borders and save thousands of lives.

The development of mentoring is a vital necessity for the effective development of our company. The mentoring system at Istok NPP includes four types of mentoring.

Mentoring for schoolchildren in the framework of career guidance and development activities that develop a conscious need for them to link their future professional activities with our company. These are conferences, Olympiads, competitions, master classes, open days, summer practice of schoolchildren at Istok. You can't imagine how many children of different ages I have signed up to work at Istok for at least a week. The formation of Rostec classes with advanced engineering training is only the main part of the activities carried out annually with Fryazinsky schools.

The second type is mentoring for students. We have kept the RTU–MIREA branch in the science town of Fryazino. It has been operating here for about 60 years. A special feature of this branch is that the chief designers of Istok are the heads of all four basic departments and 15 educational laboratories. Students under their guidance have been working at our company since the second year and prepare their graduation projects under the guidance of mentors on the topics of products produced by the plant.

For further professional development, Istok operates additional professional education, postgraduate studies, and a doctoral dissertation council.

The third type of mentoring is mentoring for new employees of the enterprise for the period of their adaptation to the position.

Mentoring for professional training of employees of the enterprise is its fourth type. If mentoring schoolchildren and students solves the problem of attracting highly qualified employees to the company who are motivated to get to us, then mentoring new employees of the enterprise for the period of their adaptation to the position, we reduce staff turnover, which was reduced from 16 percent in 2019 to four percent in 2023.

Mentoring for professional training of employees of the enterprise is aimed at creating favorable working conditions, activating creative potential and ensuring continuity in key positions with the transfer of key knowledge and skills that lead to a significant increase in product output and rapid growth in revenue and profit.

This is proved by the fact that in the period from 2010 to the present, our company's revenue increased more than 11-fold from 2.6 billion rubles and amounted to 30 billion rubles this year – we finished this year. The profit from the loss increased to four billion rubles, the average salary increased from 22 thousand to 120 thousand, and, of course, the number of employees increased from four thousand to eight thousand.

The next step that will be taken at our enterprise for the development of mentoring is the creation of a scientific and educational eco-space-technology center with the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Education and Science, the state company Rostec, the United Instrument-Making Corporation, the Russian Technological University – MIREA and the leadership of the Moscow region in the science city of Fryazino It is aimed at providing young people, schoolchildren and students with engineering knowledge and practices in the field of technical sciences, information technologies, programming and participation in scientific research and production of NPP Istok.

Young people under the guidance of mentors at the technology center will have the opportunity to create projects, develop equipment of various levels, and take part in competitions, including international ones, with their developed equipment. For example, recently there was a "Battle of Robots", where our team, of course, took a modest place, but entered the 1/8 finals of this international competition. At Cyberdrome, we reached the semi-finals of the drone competition. And thus objectively evaluate the capabilities of their robots, self-driving vehicles, esports games, VR-modeling space, and digital doubles. And you and I will receive future outstanding engineers of our country with burning eyes, who in the near future, having absorbed our moral and professional guidelines, will become the main force in ensuring the security and technological sovereignty of our Homeland.

Please support this project. It will be the first of this level in the science city of Fryazino.

However, the development of mentoring is limited to a number of unresolved issues: the mentor's status, goals, and tasks are not defined, there is no system for ranking mentors by their level of competence, the procedure and level of remuneration for mentors are not defined, and there is no system for training mentors.

I propose to regulate these issues in a regulatory manner and fix them by law, because this is very important. At our enterprise, this issue has been resolved, but there are many low-cost enterprises that cannot do this on their own, at the expense of their profits, which the owner allows them to spend.

In conclusion, I would like to say the main thing, Mr President, that Istok would never have achieved such results if it had not been surrounded by the attention, care, practical support and constant efforts of you personally, Mr President, and the country's leadership.

Thank you very much from the employees of our company and from me personally.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Thank you also for your suggestions – we will think over all this in one way or another and note it later in the draft decisions. We have already spoken several times, and today I also mentioned this, about the need to involve in the work that we are discussing today people who have gone through serious trials and made a decision to defend their homeland.

And now, in this St. Andrew's Hall, I will be happy to give the floor to Ruslan Anatolyevich Zakharov, Knight of the Order of the St. George Cross.

You are welcome.

R. Zakharov: Hello, my dear President Vladimir Vladimirovich!

I would like to introduce myself: I am Ruslan A. Zakharov, Senior Sergeant of the 80th separate reconnaissance battalion of the Marine Corps "Sparta".

I am a simple citizen of the Vladimir region, I arrived here a couple of days ago from the front. And after our meeting, as I depart, I would like to thank you with great pleasure for a strong and strong Russia, for the development of the country inside as well as outside, and for all that you do for us.

You actively support sports, teachers, mentors, and coaches. You are our mentor, just as you were a mentor to me a long time ago. You have such a phrase: you need to bring the case to the very end. I was guided by it at the front.

I was honored to fight with the Hero of Russia, the Hero of the Donetsk People's Republic Vladimir Zhoga. I received three concussions, refused to evacuate, wanted to complete the task-to reach the end, take the height, gain a foothold and clear it. I reached the height, got a machine-gun burst in my leg, got up, worked with a grenade launcher, got another machine-gun burst, after which I couldn't get up anymore. I immediately remembered the words of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov: knocked down-go on your knees, if you can't walk – you need to step on the ground.

I took the submachine gun in my right hand and crawled into the enemy's fire. On this day, I had the opportunity to be captured or blown up. But Commander Bumblebee did not let me get captured, pulled me out, and evacuated Semyon Pegov.

I would like to advise all citizens of Russia and all residents that it is always necessary to bring the matter to the very end.

In August, the Popular Front invited me to an event where I worked with young people, told them about the battle path, about the exploits of my comrades, and what our soldiers are ready to do for the sake of our great common victory.

Not only did we charge them, but they also charged us with their hard work and great desire to train. I had a more female team, but we passed all the tests with honors, we were marked. This only strengthened my team, the women's team.

I am an active fighter, and after the victory I plan to engage in mentoring. A person should be judged not by his words, but by his actions. I run a Telegram channel "Vladimirskaya Rus", where my lifestyle is witnessed.

I passed the sports standards for the highest category, I am waging an information war against the Kiev regime, crimes in the city of Donetsk. I develop in different directions: I work with young people, come to competitions, visit wounded soldiers in hospitals, distribute food personally, myself, food to churches; I distribute cakes and sweets on the streets; I clean the streets if there is ice, I break ice. All this is witnessed in my Telegram channel.

Due to my work and service, I can't post on social networks. Using my own example, I show people that you need to start with yourself, change yourself, and not others. I'd like people to see it. I do not like to " yak " in life, but there is a possibility that people look for the good of the Motherland, for the good of the common people.

I entered and am already in my second year of teaching college in the city of Vladimir.

Thank you very much for the word.

(Applause.)

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Alexey Anatolyevich, can you add something?

Alexander Kutyrev: I can only agree with the words of my colleague and comrade-in-arms.

Of course, it's a big deal, we do it all together. Thank you very much, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for your support on behalf of all our guys-those who have returned and those who still continue to defend our Homeland.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: First of all, thank you guys.

Second – I have already said this, it has been said many times, and I want to repeat it again: mentoring is a noble mission, pedagogy, education, but there is nothing more vivid, there is nothing more effective than transferring your knowledge and experience from heart to heart, there is nothing more effective than educating by example. This is the most important thing.

Thank you very much. I would like to sincerely wish you success in the mission that you are carrying out in combat conditions, and in the path that you are choosing for yourself to educate future generations.

Thank you.

Tatiana Alekseevna, please.

T. : Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

I would like to continue what you just said, Mr President, by thanking the guys for their service, for defending our country, and saying that when we have such reliable guys with us, we are absolutely confident that we will win.

I would like to comment on some of the speeches that were made today and focus on some of the issues that you also outlined in your opening remarks.

The first is the salary of teachers. You said that we should move along the path of increasing wages. We regularly monitor the situation and proceed from the need to implement your Decree No. 597 of 2012, which you mentioned. But practical experience shows the following.

Currently, the education system operates at three levels of government-federal, regional, and municipal - and is regulated in different ways. Therefore, within the framework of the Russian Tripartite Commission for the Regulation of Social and Labor Relations, we adopted a consolidated decision of employers, trade unions and the Government to develop unified recommendations for 2024 on establishing a system of remuneration for employees of state and municipal institutions at the federal, regional and local levels. There doesn't seem to be anything special in this document, it is traditional and has a recommendatory character, but after analyzing the existing experience, we have changed the approaches and features of establishing remuneration systems for education, some features for healthcare, culture and other budget-funded sectors.

These are recommendations, and it is clear that not everyone can rely on them. Nevertheless, we agreed last week in the framework of the Russian Trilateral Commission that we will monitor this work on a quarterly basis by our own efforts – by the efforts of the Russian trilateral commissions - and see where we have real problems today and where, as you said, we need to reduce the differentiation that has developed over a certain period of time time limit. Accordingly, we will work together with the Ministry of Finance in this area – and, of course, together with the regions.

Second. The topic of bureaucratic workload has already been discussed today. I want to say that amendments to the law "On Education" were actually adopted, the relevant regulatory documents of the Ministry of Education were adopted, and five documents were identified that are reporting for teachers.

But there are external reports established by other legal and regulatory acts, as well as requests from individual other federal and not only federal authorities. Accordingly, on behalf of the Prime Minister, 21 institutions in six regions of the Russian Federation are conducting an experiment to reduce the same bureaucratic burden that their colleagues are now talking about. We must complete all this by the beginning of the next academic year, i.e. by September 1, 2024, and make a decision on the need to amend other regulatory acts that are not regulated by the law "On Education", but are regulated by other areas of law. We will complete this work, report on it separately, and we really hope that this will significantly save teachers from the additional bureaucratic burden.

The third thing I wanted to say, and this was also mentioned today – is a topic that is related to mentoring. This is a very sensitive topic, we discussed it with the governors yesterday, we discussed it with the mentors and came to a common conclusion, and today many people said that this area should not be bureaucratized. It is divided into two parts. The first part is what our colleagues from the manufacturing sector talked about, that is, mentoring works at the enterprise. Many production workers say that we have already developed and formed this system, so there is no need to break it, it is familiar, it works and works well. And it's best if you take the best practices, summarize them, and extend them to other businesses.

But what are the manufacturers talking about? Industrial workers talk about what Istok was talking about today: they have the right to pay appropriate incentive payments or additional payments, but in the labor legislation they are not referred to as "payments for mentoring", that is, they are not named as such, they do not have a proper name.

So yesterday, together with our colleagues, we agreed that we will work out together with the Parliament amendments to the labor legislation, which will allocate these payments as part of the payroll fund and regulate them accordingly further by regulatory acts, so that this becomes the force of law and is clearly a payment for mentoring.

And this is not exclusively related to the manufacturing sector, just on the basis of the manufacturing sector, we developed these solutions, and this is any area where the institute of mentoring is used.

There is another mentoring, which, if you can say, at the behest of the soul, at the call of the heart. This is something that our colleagues believe should not be strictly regulated. Nevertheless, we see that there is still a need to streamline approaches to the formation of such mentoring in some way.

Therefore, today Mikhail Vladimirovich [Razvozhaev] said in his speech that we agreed to work out the concept and models of mentoring as recommendation approaches-for now. Then we will see if any additional changes in the current legislation are required, then we will work them out together with the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and together with the State Council commissions.

But I can already say that we have created a corresponding working group on the basis of the Ministry of Education with the participation of experts, which will present such proposals and concepts in the near future.

And a very important topic ... perhaps two topics that I wanted to mention, which were also discussed today. The year of a teacher and mentor does not end with a calendar year, and it is impossible to increase the prestige of a teacher and mentor in one year. This is our practical work. And we must move in this direction, always remember this, and you said this today. Because there is nothing more important than the education sector, it provides personnel for any other industry. And the future of our country depends on how well we train our students.

Therefore, the profession of a teacher, the profession of a mentor should always be held in high esteem. And the 53 billion rubles that the regions of the Russian Federation have allocated to support the teaching staff and mentoring staff, of course, should be preserved. But I can say that none of the regions mentioned in the discussion that they were going to exclude it. And this is very good.

And finally, the last thing. Thanks to the national project that you defined in 2018, I mean the national project "Education", the image of our education has changed a lot. Of course, the content of the infrastructure changes as well. And we have reached a certain level that we would like to maintain and develop.

In the process of infrastructural and substantive changes, other very important changes are taking place, which you and your colleagues discussed today – the development of our sovereign education system. It is very important. And we would like that in the future, when future priorities are determined, education will remain so, and its main, best areas will be supported further.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you, Tatyana Alekseyevna.

Colleagues, please, who would like to say something?

Gennady Andreevich, please.

G. : Dear State Council,

The very fact that the President is holding this important meeting dedicated to the teacher and mentoring in this majestic hall, which testifies to the heroic thousand-year history of our country, is worth a lot. But in the conditions of war, which NATO and the Americans declared to the Russian world, the content of the work of a teacher and mentor takes on a special meaning.

At the age of 17, I started working as a teacher in a rural school. In my family, ten teachers in three generations have taught almost all subjects except a foreign language for 350 years.

I would like to thank the President for not only paying attention to these problems recently, but also encouraging and supporting the work of governors, heads, deputies in every possible way and making this work as fruitful as possible.

Today I am pleased to report to you that we have recently received 16,000 children from Donbas here, in the Presidential recreation center. Yesterday we sent 150,000 gifts to Novorossiya, where we will visit everything from the front line to boarding schools. And we provide more than just patronage.

As a person and a teacher, I was simply amazed: the children who came from there were beautiful in appearance, but from the second grade they were taught from Soros textbooks and said that some evil, bad uncles live here. They were simply stunned when we brought them to the Kremlin, to Red Square, to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, to the "School of Masters", a magnificent Exhibition of the achievements of our national economy, to the battlefields. Two weeks later, it was completely different children who were leaving.

I want you and me to continue this very important work, especially for high school students. Now the guys are from the battlefields, they say this directly, because high school students are "disfigured" more than small children, and they require special attention. Such prevention for two weeks is very expensive. Especially Novorossiya can count on our most active help and support.

I served for three years in the group of Soviet troops in Germany. Vladimir Vladimirovich served in the intelligence service nearby, and I served in the military intelligence service. I must say that when I visited Berlin and the Reichstag, I was simply amazed. Berlin was taken by our troops, where seven out of ten were teachers or headmasters of Soviet schools. Not a single obscene word was written on the columns of the Reichstag. The fascists were simply shocked by the level of culture and education of those who ensured our grandiose and great Victory. And it is not by chance that the guys on the battlefields, every time we send a [humanitarian] convoy, ask for 200-300 Victory banners - the banners of the fathers who all joined that "immortal regiment"together with us. All of us here, members of the State Council, are soldiers of this "immortal regiment". In this regard, the work carried out by our leaders and members of the State Council, Vladimir Vladimirovich, in my opinion, deserves additional support.

Together with the deputies, I visited the exhibition three times. You know, it makes a stunning impression on the new generation – and above all, the scale of the country, the level of display of this material. But it should not be separated from the great Soviet era. No matter what anyone says, but if you take the last 100 years, there are only two projects that gave the highest result. For 30 years, the Soviet country showed the first and average rates-14 percent per year, the Chinese showed 10 percent. And you, you are called in China, you have met with Xi Jinping more than 40 times… I met him when he was mayor of Shanghai, an outstanding leader. Today, we will build up our potential and ensure security, and together we will ensure the level of education and training of the new generation. We have a lot to share and learn from them now.

And in this regard, I think that our work, especially in the coming Year of the Family, should be supplemented by studying, summarizing the experience and mentoring of the leaders sitting here. We are obliged to show the great work that the President is doing to assert our sovereignty to all high school students and students, starting from the Munich speech, where it was said directly to the whole West: the Russian world has its own history, language, culture, traditions, and without this we cannot live and develop, until the last speech, I was at the expanded board of the Ministry of Defense, where a completely different spirit prevailed, this is the spirit of the winners, the spirit of the army, which received powerful support from the industry. This is a completely different state, and it is absolutely clear that we will win there. But the whole question is how the new generation will absorb all this, and I see that here we are very significantly underperforming. And the guys who are fighting there have the right to demand that both students and schoolchildren know about their exploits, which is extremely important for us.

Chairman of the Duma [Vyacheslav] Volodin brought us to [Mikhail] Mishustin's control center. I've been to 80 countries and seen how governance is formed in many, but I must say: today it's the best time when we are shown all the distribution of responsibilities and assignments. However, I felt sorry for [Tatiana] Golikova – she has 1,400 assignments. Apparently, she [Anton] Siluanov gives little money for science, education, and culture, hence the additional assignments. But the very fact that every [assignment] is recorded, reported, and managed is an experience that is useful to everyone.

Or we recently discussed with [Sergei] Sobyanin the solution to the transport problem, which has always been so acute in Moscow. We have discussed this for a long time. Now a giant breakthrough in this matter. We need to distribute it. Build a road of this class in three years! As a person who is familiar with this, I received the first order for the "Orel continuous". It seemed to me that this was impossible, but it was decided, done, and the new generation should know and absorb it.

Sergey Sergeyevich [Kravtsov] came recently, our school is already becoming sovereign, we have already restored all the best, but you signed the first Decree on the restoration of children's and youth organizations in schools and educational institutions. We need to move this forward more energetically and competently.

At [Rustam's] Minnikhanov held a holiday with the Leaders of the Chuvash people. 20 thousand [people] came, and Ukraine, Moldova, and even the Baltic States came. It was a celebration of the soul and a celebration of national celebration. This is also worth a lot. But we drove 300 kilometers – not a single dry tree. Why? Because Minnikhanov's parent was a forester, and he saved the Ministry of Agriculture like a native child, it works like clockwork for him. That's where you need to take them, and then there will be five times less fires.

This, by the way, is very brilliantly organized by Father Lukashenko, especially since he promised to help you with the egg recently, you just joked, but I think our Ministry of Agriculture thought about this joke.

In general, we have Kadyrov for the victory – what a well-established work of the guys! I sent my general there, and I said with great interest that this should be implemented in our military sports camps. They train future warriors-defenders.

I'm grateful, you [Andreya] Klychkov was accepted. This is the young governor of my Oryol region. It was the first time he had received seven tons of grain per person! Rostov region – almost 14 [million] per four million-four tons each. Seven tons each. That's whose experience should be promoted and disseminated today. This will be both study and mentoring. But I am sure that the groundwork that has been made will allow us to win and win.

But, we must keep in mind that there are five very tough problems ahead that will force us to rebuild both the school and the university on new tracks. You recently watched this artificial intelligence video. This is a depletion of resources, and we have a third of the planet's strategic resources, we will not be allowed to rest. We need to be smart, strong, and successful. This is also the migration of peoples. It is no accident that both you and His Holiness [the Patriarch] particularly stressed this issue at the Russian Council. These include new diseases and artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is fine, but if you put it in the hands of a bad person, it will only consume it for evil. This requires a completely fundamental update of the entire educational process.

And behavior management. Look at what the Americans are doing in this field, setting fire to one "color revolution" after another. We know how to resist this, and you have laid a good foundation for this.

I congratulate everyone on the New Year and hope that we will have even more significant victories ahead of us.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, Gennady Andreevich.

Knyazev Evgeny Vladimirovich, please, Shchukin School.

Yevgeny Knyazev: Good afternoon, dear members of the State Council! Good afternoon, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

I would like to say a few words about mentoring in the field of art.

Mentoring is the idea that, in fact, drives the development of a person, his spiritual world. And in art, as in life, the mentor plays a huge role. This is a person with whom you can consult on various issues, you trust him, and, most importantly, you choose a mentor yourself. This role can be played by the theater. Theater excites the viewer, shapes the viewer, shapes his tastes, forms his values and can educate the younger generation.

Understanding this and the need for all this, we, together with the Ministry of Education, the Movement of the First and the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute, where I am the rector, came up with a project for the development of school theaters as a tool for mentoring. And within the framework of this project, a lot of events are being held, including "School Classics"events. We're not trying to educate actors, God forbid. We want them to learn to see the beautiful, to develop their imagination, to learn to listen and listen to other people.

And it is amazing that in two years our project has received some kind of all-Russian scale. During this time, 30 thousand school theaters were created, and each of these theaters needs that ideological inspirer. We then began to work with the heads of these school theaters. They should be people who are passionate about their work, love children, are educated, professional, know the theater, should be an example, should be able to unite different children – in general, many,many things these teachers should do. I would like theaters to be such an integral part of all schools across our country.

In the history of school theaters, there are amazing results. In the 21st year in the city of Novocherkassk just created a school theater, which was called "First Row". And already in the 23rd year, when the contest of works "Young Guard" was announced, they managed to unite in a year and a half, and more than 70 people showed the best work throughout the country. They brought her to Moscow, and this is the merit of the mentor. Do you understand what a moral nature has taken up residence in these young people who were engaged in the "Young Guard" and who will bear this in later life?

I am convinced that the idea of school theaters is worthy of the federal level. It is necessary to equip these school theaters so that the children have normal playgrounds and costumes of some kind. It would be good for teachers who work with these children, who are engaged in a very necessary profession-education, to have a salary after all.

Mentoring is still selfless, but government support is still important, and it will be very much appreciated. Students get acquainted with classical works, they watch performances, and participate themselves. Do you know how valuable it can be when children can say "cool" about classics, for example? It's not my word, it's the child's word.

I had such a case when I performed in the Philharmonic hall with the piece "The Queen of Spades". After the performance, my mother sent me a letter thanking me for her son, explaining that she went to the performance for the sake of her son, which is held at the Pushkin School. He told her that he would not go to any Pushkin, because Pushkin is bad, it sucks, it's old stuff, he will never go.

She insisted, took him there. He didn't look, didn't want to, turned away, then still took a closer look, got carried away, and when it was over, he turned to his mother and said: mom, thank you so much for bringing me here, it turns out that Pushkin is cool. So, for Pushkin to be cool, they need to prove it, they need to show it, they need to be convinced of it.

Next year marks the 225th anniversary of Pushkin, and we are holding the final stage of the "School Classics" in the Pushkin Mountains. The Governor of the Pskov Region, the Patriarchy, the Movement of the First, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture support it. I invite you every year on Pushkin's birthday, we hold the festival "School Classics" there. You have no idea! If you want to see the eyes of burning young people who have been in the heart of Russian classics and classics, please come to Pushkin's birthday in Pushkinskie Gory. This year will be our next festival. Mr Putin, I also invite you to come and see to what extent people need it.

Here is my mentor, for example, Pyotr Naumovich Fomenko. He is a great director, has directed a lot of performances, and I miss him even today. This is a person who believed in the highest mission of the theater and for whom the theater was a way of life, serving it. In the 90's, when the country was falling apart, when people were rushing from side to side, not knowing how to earn any pennies to survive, I also came to survive, and asked him to let me go from the play that we started with him rehearse. Later, this performance received the State Prize, which I received here, in this hall. So he told me then that such times will pass, everything will pass, but the theater will remain. People just went to conservatories, exhibitions and theaters, they will continue to go, and this is necessary, the audience will need you. You were lucky enough to work in such a wonderful theater as the Vakhtangov Theater, so do not betray it, but stay in this theater. How grateful I am to him for these words of my mentor!

Here's what I want to say, what I would like to ask you: I would like as many people as possible to learn about the idea of mentoring in order to support the initiative to promote mentoring through cinema, theater, and social advertising, including films, videos, and audio materials dedicated to teachers and mentors. And I ask for the possibility of considering the allocation of some funding, even a small one, for the development of school theaters in the regions of the country.

The year of the teacher and mentor ends, but this does not mean that the mentoring will end, it was, is and will continue. Because a mentor is a very good teacher. The year of the teacher and teacher, and the teacher is the most honorable profession.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

The mom you mentioned took her son to the Queen of Spades, which is clearly not part of the school curriculum, so maybe he was so interested. Three, seven, ace – not an ace, but a queen. But the idea of school theaters is very good.

This is really such an element of education not only on the classics, but also on everything that is interesting for the theater. I think that if our colleagues pay attention to this – and we at the federal level could support it in some way-it would be useful. Moreover, the Finance Minister told us this morning that our deficit is even less than the two percent we were talking about. And they said that this would be a good result – a two percent deficit. It turns out that, most likely, it will be less than one and a half. So in general, there are opportunities. This is a matter of priorities. And what Evgeny Vladimirovich [Knyazev] said, it certainly belongs to the priorities, because it relates to education.

Another participant of our meeting, Litvinova Elena Anatolyevna, asked for the floor. She works in the Sverdlovsk region, in the Nizhny Tagil Technical School, and is a mentor to students with hearing impairments.

Elena Anatolyevna, please.

Elena Litvinova: Good afternoon!

I would like to add: master of industrial training, translator of Russian sign language, national expert of the Abilimpix Professional Skills Championship among disabled people and persons with disabilities.

In accordance with your instructions, events of the All-Russian Championship Movement in Professional Skills are being held in all regions of the Russian Federation starting this year. This is a whole line of championships, where participants demonstrate their professional skills and competencies in specialties and professions, as well as work on creating product prototypes for leading industries. Among them is a new championship "Professionals" in 35 competencies, where about 700 children from 62 regions took part.

The first high-tech championship [was held] in Veliky Novgorod, where 270 contestants and experts from 31 regions took part, and which you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, visited in September.

It should be noted that earlier similar competitions were held as part of the World Skills movement. Now this is a new line of championships that are held at an equally high level – ours is even better. Our championships are focused on our economy and development.

Recently, you met with the winners of these championships, where the guys shared their impressions of participating. Such meetings are undoubtedly very important for the guys.

Also, within the framework of the championship movement, the national championship on professional skills among disabled people and persons with disabilities "Abilimpix" is being held, which in 2023 was attended by more than 750 contestants from 76 regions of the Russian Federation. Competitions were held in 49 competencies.

One of the participants of the Abilimpix movement is my pupil, who became the winner of the national championship in the competence "turning operations on CNC machines" Denis Grekhov.

Denis has been deaf since childhood. Now he works at a military-defense enterprise as the head of the programming department. There is a reason to be proud of your graduate. This is a concrete example of the effectiveness of the championship movement.

It is gratifying that such attention is being paid to this issue, and it is important to note that the regions are implementing a system of incentives for participants and their mentors. Championships provide an opportunity for children to open up in their professional activities. The guys work at enterprises and become high-level specialists.

In addition, such championships as the Abilympics allow for the natural integration of special children in society. And the mentor in this case performs the most important role of a guide who directly implements this integration. A mentor is someone who inspires and motivates their mentee to further develop both professionally and personally.

I would like to note that not only the mentor plays an important role in the life of the mentee, but we ourselves, as mentors, receive a lot from our wards, namely: we learn from them patience, the will to win, and appreciate what we have. The guys inspire us and make us better. And here we can talk about such a specific form of mentoring as reverse mentoring, and it needs to be developed separately.

Since mentoring is a very important and relevant area, today there is an urgent need for regulatory regulation of activities in this area, as well as securing the official status of a mentor, which would allow for the formation of a more effective mentoring system.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, in this regard, I would like to ask you to consider the possibility of working out a federal law regulating mentoring, as well as a document defining the requirements for the level of competence of a mentor, which can become a professional standard at least in the field of education.

As far as I know, there are now a lot of specialists who are willing and able to share their experience and knowledge in the field of mentoring with each other, as well as with other people. It would be useful for them and all of us to form a community, perhaps in the form of an association or movement, that would bring all these people together.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your suggestions.

We'll finish it slowly, right?

Alexander Petrynin: May I ask your permission?

Vladimir Putin: Please, please.

Alexander Petrynin: Alexander Petrynin, Director of the Khabarovsk Regional Center for Psychological, Pedagogical, Medical and Social Assistance, People's Teacher of the Russian Federation, "godfather" of over 1,700 former little hooligans who became worthy citizens of our country, very loving parents and defenders of the Fatherland.

Our center was opened in the very beginning of the 90 - ies on the crest of juvenile delinquency and child neglect. And we, the adults, were shocked when a visiting child told his story: how much filth and filth he saw in his life, how the small heart of a small child can contain all this! Such children can be rejected, easily punished, easily condemned, harder to understand, accept, love and help.

I am very grateful to Sergey Sergeevich [Kravtsov]. He dwelt in great detail on the personal aspects of the sovereign education system. I would like to focus on such an integral aspect of it.

A sovereign education system based on national spiritual and moral values and Russian cultural and historical traditions is, in my opinion, also the most powerful therapeutic tool for such children with deviant behavior.

Children are bullies, children at risk, they are extraordinary inventors. And we also decided to organize a slightly different environment for them. We don't have a Russian language class, a biology class, or a history class. There is a class of history of the Fatherland, a class of Russian literature, a class of native nature. We don't have a dining room, but a refectory. Not a psychologist's office, but an upper room, a greenhouse, a samovar. Children should also indicate the meeting place. And the child, whose vocabulary used to be criminal jargon, obscene language, and at best teenage slang, suddenly says: "we meet in the upper room", "we have a lesson in Russian literature", "I'm on duty in the refectory". In the beginning there was a word, and the child through these words acquires new meanings, the semantics of the child's speech changes, he becomes not just a bully, but a great citizen of a great country.

Mr President, we are closely following your comments on the state of juvenile delinquency, especially at the Russian Interior Ministry's collegiums. We understand and are very happy that juvenile delinquency is decreasing. And we are grateful to you, as the leader of a huge, largest power in the world, for the paternal care of these children, because we share your concern about the increase in recidivism among teenagers. Therefore, I have several suggestions in this regard.

I would like to ask you, Mr President, to change the functionality and expand the categories of minors admitted to the centers of offenders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and specialized educational institutions of the Ministry of Education of Russia. As a teacher-mentor, I often feel not only negative, but despair, because there are some two extremes. One extreme is that a child who repeatedly commits illegal acts is not sent to an educational institution or to the Central Social Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although they are empty. Maybe earlier they were punitive institutions, but now everything has changed. The 90s and the present time are completely different. Professional teachers, psychologists, and doctors work in these institutions. They are ready to provide professional assistance to such children. And we, it turns out, provoke the criminal experience of the child. We have facts when 24 times the court refuses to place a child in the Central Social Welfare Center or in an institution, waiting for a more terrible crime to be committed, when he no longer goes to the education system, but to the Federal Penitentiary Service, goes to the colony, "improves his skills".

The second extreme is that the judges place a child who has already changed, the circumstances of his life have changed, he was, for example, even in our center. There have been cases when a child six months after committing an illegal act-in April he committed, in September he came to us-and the judge arrests him, already our child. Even despite the enormous authority of our center in the Khabarovsk Territory, the opinion is not taken into account, and the child who begins to believe adults, he has changed, he is different. One person has committed crimes, and another child is placed in a closed institution. You can't hear it. The child is lost. Thank you, Mikhail Vladimirovich [Razvozhaev] today told an interesting story that was in his life.

Following your instructions, Mr President, we have developed a professional development program, which is also registered in the federal register. As far as I am aware, more than 68,000 classroom teachers and teachers have completed training and advanced training courses this year. Thus, the National System of Professional development of Teachers is being implemented. Mentors also need to be taught. Therefore, I propose to develop specialized courses and modules for mentors that will help you develop mentoring skills.

I am grateful to you for a very interesting phrase, wise and profound, at the beginning of our meeting: educational work should not be limited to school. That's right. This includes production, the yard where the child lives, and so on.

Therefore, I ask and make a proposal to ensure the involvement of mentors in the prevention of crime and delinquency of children.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Dear colleagues!

I suggest we finish our work.

Once again, I will return to what Evgeny Vladimirovich [Knyazev] said, he remembered the "Queen of Spades". Pushkin teaches us a lot, including this work. But it also teaches us not to recoup, but to win, to win. But in order to win, we need to pay even more attention to school, to mentoring. Because it is in school that all our victories are laid. This is an absolutely obvious thing. And this is the foundation on which our entire society and the entire country, the entire state is built.

The year of a teacher and mentor is just the beginning of joint work in this important area. During this year, we have collected additional information, looked at the practice, summarized this practice, and today we have summarized in the most general terms what has been done. But, I repeat, this is just the beginning, the beginning of a new stage of our joint work. I say joint work, because without the most active participation of the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation, we will not be able to move this work in the right direction and at the right pace, with the right quality, of course.

I want to thank you for everything that has been done over the past year, 2023. I would like to express my hope that we will continue to work actively in the coming year, 2024. Of course, all the proposals made today should be taken into account in our draft decision.

Thank you for your work and I would like to wish you success in the coming year and congratulate you on the coming year, 2024.

Thank you very much. [All Emphasis Mine]

Many thoughts flood the mind while reading this extraordinary transcript. The concept of Educational Sovereignty is excellent provided the education is honest. Russia is very much on the correct path. The emphasized portions will speak for me here. The conditions for teachers and education within the USA is fraught when compared to what Russia’s doing and will accomplish. The more I think about it, the more I just sit and shake my head in a negative manner as the systemic differences alone make reforming the USA’s educational outcomes nearly impossible as it’s every state of itself and most chose to finance schools via property taxes instead of through the general budget so all districts can be equally financed. But that’s only one part of a huge mess that won’t be solved anytime soon given the utter ineptitude of governance at the state and local levels, not to mention the FUBAR caused by Federal intervention.

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