RT Prime Minister: Higher school is a deterring factor for Tatarstan

Tatarstan’s higher school is a deterring factor for the republic, Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov told a staff meeting “On the Tatarstan Ministry of Education and Science’s performance in 2011 and tasks for 2012”.

The premier recalled the famous saying that Russia is a country of universal sub-standard higher education. “My chief concern is that we today – I mean you, rectors of higher educational establishments – are a deterring factor for the Tatarstan’s economy. We all are participants in this process. This is intolerable. We talk about the necessity of proficiency standards, close cooperation with employers and a whole range of other reform but the process has unfortunately been very slow. While a year ago we calmed ourselves with that we were in the outset, we no longer can. A year is a long time for Tatarstan. We are waiting for tangible results, when employers and manufacturers heads begin to say that students come to them with qualification allowing to employ 3rd year students. We invest huge money but we not only simply do not get the result but mislead the students and their parents who think they will be able to earn good money and support their family. The higher school is the most painful of all the sore spots.”

Fifty five higher educational establishments in 46 regions of Russia won a federal competition aimed to support strategic development programmes support. “Establishments based in Tatarstan among them are zero,” the premier went on to say.

The education branch is envied by everyone, in view of its increased financing. “None of the other branches has received such decisions from the President of the republic,” he stressed. “In 2009 financing totalled 28 billion roubles, in 2010 – 32 and in 2011 – 41.6 billion.”

Besides, I. Khalikov said additional decisions were made, to improve the Tatarstan education system’s infrastructure. This includes a 3-year school renovation programme for schools older than 30 years, which schools number 783 in Tatarstan. A total of 153 largest institutions will this year be overhauled.

I.Khalikov called for eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy from teacher’s work. “The number of statements our teachers, doctors and other specialists have to fill out every day has exceeded all thinkable limits,” he flared. “It is not by accident that we are preparing a new project, Efficient Government, whose main task will be at least halving these processes.”

“The ministry has been set complex tasks but we have a powerful team, able to resolve them,” Ildar Khalikov concluded and awarded the most distinguished employees of the industry. The best teachers and teams were presented President of Tatarstan Gratitudes and conferred the title of Distinguished Teacher of Tatarstan.