I. Metshin took part in the meeting of Education and Science Worker of the republic

(KZN.RU, August 19). Points of growth and development of the Tatarstan education system were discussed at the plenary session of the republican August meeting of the Education and Science Workers of the Republic in Laishevo.

The meeting was attended by Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of Tatarstan, Ekaterina Tolstikova, the deputy minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Farid Mukhametshin, the chairman of Tatarstan State Council, Ildar Khalikov, the Prime Minister of Tatarstan, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, Engel Fattakhov, the deputy Prime Minister of RT and Minister of Education and Science of the RT, deputies of the State Duma, representatives of the State Council of the RT, heads of enterprises, municipal districts, Executive Committees of municipal unions, rectors of higher education institutions, directors of primary and secondary vocational education and others.

As Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of Tatarstan, reported earlier in the meeting, the average salary in Tatarstan increased by 25%, the doctor’s has increased by 63.7%, the teacher’s - by 54.8% over the four years of the implementation of the President of Russia May decrees.

Rustam Minnikhanov noted that the share of social spending accounts 75% of the budget of Tatarstan.

The President also noted that more than 45 thousand places in kindergartens were created over the past five years in Tatarstan. In addition, 200 new kindergartens and more than 30 schools have been built, and more than 700 educational institutions have been repaired.

“Two-thirds of the country's population have improved living conditions”, said Rustam Minnikhanov. “12.881 apartment buildings, inhabited by more than 2.8 million people, were overhauled. More than 900 thousand families with affordable housing were provided by social mortgage program”.

Engel Fattakhov, the head Ministry of Education and Science of RT, gave a main report on the development of the education system and the tasks for the new school year. And Mihail Afanasiev, the head of Laishevo municipal district, spoke about the district educational system and about the projects implemented here in the education area.

The topic of education quality was discussed during the meeting. According to Rustam Minnikhanov, vocational training issues require special attention. 2.5 billion rubles were allocated for the development of this sector in 2014. The President reminded that 14 resource centers established in the country, one of which the meeting participants visited today.

He also noted the need to work methodically and systematically to introduce world standards in educational programs. The professional skill Cup “World Skills” helps to compare the level of skills and abilities of students with international standards. “As part of this international movement, we are among the leaders in our country. But even our best guys, the winners of the national championship, do not reach the world level. 2019 year is not that far, and it will be a shame if the representatives of the Russian championship will be not at the place where they should be”, said Rustam Minnikhanov.

The President said that the increase in the level of higher education is necessary in the Kama and Almetyevsk areas, for which it is necessary to create a modern educational and engineering centers for training and carrying out research at leading universities. The availability and quality remain major challenges in secondary education, according to Rustam Minnikhanov. The development of a network of educational institutions, a clear understanding of the standard of education, a good system of basic schools, and adequacy of traditional education should be behind this.

Rustam Minnikhanov noted it is important to work to improve the qualifications of teachers, encourage job creation and professional associations, to replicate the most successful practices in schools, which take weak positions in the ranking. “Of course, the quality of the teacher's work cannot be raised only at the expense of competition!” said Rustam Minnikhanov. “It is necessary to avoid a formal approach in the analysis of the activities of educational institutions, the figures control. It is important to consider the location of the educational institution, a contingent of both students and teachers”.

Tatarstan President reminded one of the trends of modern education – the increased attention to early childhood education. He also noted that today’s education cannot be imagined without the formation of information technology. The republic has one of the best educations IT-infrastructures in the country. Universities and secondary professional educational institutions have to find the application form to give the skills and knowledge, which are necessary to IT organizations to run large IT projects, said Rustam Minnikhanov.

Pedagogical community has been and remains the driving force of any state, said Rustam Minnikhanov, and the path of pedagogy in Tatarstan is a path of trust, professionalism and common responsibility for the result, the way of the team.

At the end of the meeting Rustam Minnikhanov presented state awards to the most distinguished workers of the Tatarstan education sector, reports the press service of the President of the RT.