Ilsur Metshin: “All schools must be 100 percent ready to September 1”

(KZN.RU, August 20, Alsu Safina). On the Day of Knowledge, three new schools in the capital of Tatarstan will welcome students for the first time: in the micro-districts “Salavat Kupere”, “Svetlaya Dolina”, and on Minskaya Street. Another three schools and 19 kindergartens will open after major repairs. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, instructed to check the completion of all works and promptly eliminate every fault. All schools in the city must be ready to September 1, marked the head of the city.

This year, there are 16.5 thousand first-graders in the capital of Tatarstan, including 45 children with disabilities that begin the training sessions for the first time. The inclusive education programs have been introduced in 34 schools in the city.

By tradition, all first-graders will receive a memorable gift from the City Hall: “Diary of Good Deeds”.

More than 128 thousand pupils will go to schools on September 1; that is 8 thousand more than last year.

The “Lesson of Peace” will take place in Kazan schools on the Day of Knowledge. In addition, the academic year will begin with the holding of thematic events on the “Week of Good” and the month “No to Extremism!”

The number of preschool children in the new school year will be about 71000. This year, 16000 children have been sent to kindergartens, said Ilnar Khidiyatov, the head of the Department of Education. The tensest situation with providing children with places in kindergartens is in the Privolzhsky and Sovetsky districts.

513 municipal educational institutions will operate in the city in the new school year. This is 164 schools, 301 kindergartens, and 48 institutions of additional education, including three new ones in the “Salavat Kupere”, “Svetlaya Dolina”, and on Minskaya Street.

The Mayor of Kazan noted that the schools-new buildings were long-awaited for residents of these micro-districts.

“All three schools are modern, beautiful, bright, comfortable, equipped with everything necessary. We look forward to September 1, so that the first bell rang there”, said the head of the city.

Within the framework of the republic's capital repair program, three schools and 19 kindergartens have been overhauled this year. Capital works are held at the school №113 named after Hero of Russia Marat Akhmetshin. The works on improving the territory and a public square with the bust of the hero are carried out.

Ilsur Metshin instructed Denis Kalinkin, the head of the Executive Committee, and the heads of the districts’ administrations to monitor the completion of overhaul and preparation of schools for the new school year. “All identified faults must be corrected immediately, so that the school would be ready by 100% for receiving children by September 1”, marked the Mayor.

“All overhaul issues are resolved in the vast majority of schools older than 30 years. We can say that our schools are comfortable, and there is everything for children to gain knowledge”, believes the head of the city.

He drew attention to the fact that school territories are being improved: fencing, lighting, and other issues. “There is still a lot of work. One by one, these issues will be resolved the next year”, marked I. Metshin.

Today, about 17000 teachers work in the education system, of which 29% are under the age of 35. More than 200 young professionals start their work in the new academic year; 25 of them are winners of the “Our New Teacher” grant.

As in previous years, the action “Pomogi Sobrat’sya v Shkolu” (Rus. “Help to get ready for school”) is taking place in Kazan. This year, more than 3 thousand pupils will receive help, including more than 1.5 thousand first-graders from low-income families. The action was supported by parents, graduates, and also by the heads of enterprises and residents of the city. In general, about 7 million rubles were allocated to sponsor schools for the new academic year.

“I want to thank all the participants of the action. This is our tradition. This is not just some broad gesture but an indicator of the health of our society, when strong ones help those who need it”, said Ilsur Metshin. “I'm very glad that we do this every year”. The head of the city urged the heads of structural units to join the action.