Meeting with Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov

V. Putin: Sergei Sergeyevich, you've brought materials along, and I know that work on drafting the Education System Development Strategy — the overall education system strategy — is actively underway. How does the Ministry assess that work?

S. Kravtsov: The preparation of the Education Development Strategy, which is being developed in accordance with your instruction, is nearing completion. We have discussed it with teachers and the broader pedagogical community, at the Council and the Presidium of the Council for Education and Science [an advisory body to the President on education and science policy], in the Civic Chamber [a consultative body representing Russian civil society], in the State Duma, and in the Federation Council. There is general approval; a draft Strategy has already been prepared, and we will submit it to you for approval in the near future.

I would like to say that the cornerstone of the Strategy is the foundation from which we are starting out and our response to the challenges facing our country — including education — among them the development of artificial intelligence and questions of migration policy.

But the most important objective is to maintain the quality of education. In accordance with your instruction, starting from this academic year we issued a Ministry Order establishing unified curriculum content across all subjects — what to teach at each grade level. We have also regulated the workload on schoolchildren, including homework and tests. Today, every school is teaching according to unified federal programs of a high standard, so as to provide quality education to every schoolchild, regardless of where they live or which school they attend — whether rural or urban. This has been very well received by the teaching community, and the current task is to ensure this Order is fully implemented in every school.

We already have results to show. Vladimir Vladimirovich, please take a look at the results from our international Olympiads [referring to international academic subject competitions]. Over five years, we have increased the number of gold medals.

We are working together with Sirius [a federal educational center for gifted children in Sochi]. Importantly, while Moscow is the leader here, students from other regions are also winning international Olympiads. Our task is to sustain this leadership going forward.

We have fulfilled your instruction: our country has entered the top ten in the quality of school education. We are also working separately with underperforming students — over five years, their share has decreased by 10 percentage points, from 25 to 15 percent.

We are also implementing your instruction on improving the quality of science education to support the country's technological leadership. The number of high scorers — students who scored above 80 points in science subjects…

V. Putin: …more than doubled.

S. Kravtsov: Yes. The average score in advanced mathematics has increased from 58 to 64, and similarly in physics and chemistry. We will continue this work. Developing science education is also identified as one of the priorities in the Strategy.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, your instruction regarding unified history textbooks has been fulfilled. Since last academic year, all students in grades 10–11 have been studying from unified textbooks; this year, grades 5–7 have been added; and from next year, grades 8–9 will also transition to unified state textbooks. Work on a unified social studies textbook for grades 9–10 is nearing completion. And from 1 September 2027, unified state textbooks will be introduced for science subjects — which we are preparing together with the Academy of Sciences [the Russian Academy of Sciences, the country's leading scientific institution] — as well as for Russian language and literature. In this way, by 2028, we will have completed the full range of unified state textbooks across core subjects, as you have called for.

Also in accordance with your instruction, and as reflected in the Strategy, a unified system of civic and moral education has been established.

We are implementing the "No Statute of Limitations" project [a federal initiative commemorating Soviet victims of Nazi crimes during World War II], and we are working together with the Pervye Movement [a state-sponsored youth organization established in 2022]. Students visit the "Russia — My History" historical parks and the New Chersonesus museum complex [a large historical and cultural center in Sevastopol]. We are actively working with the Znanie Society [a state-affiliated organization providing educational lectures and public outreach]. Every school now has a Deputy Director for Civic Education.

The entire system of civic education is grounded in our traditional values: love for the Motherland, family values, and the broader goal of fostering civic identity. It is very important that this work be carried out in a substantive rather than a formal manner — that is exactly what we are working on, and it is one of our key priorities.

It is also essential to protect children from harmful content. All schools have transitioned to the national MAX messenger [a Russian-developed secure messaging platform], with more than 20 million teachers and students now using it. It is a secure platform that also provides access to grade books, school assignments, and enrollment in kindergartens and schools. We are continuing to improve this service.

On the matter of teaching staff: you also set the task of supporting educators. The competition for places at teacher training universities is now twelve applicants per spot — something unprecedented. Students are choosing the profession.

V. Putin: We need to continue this work — raising the prestige of the teaching profession, both in schools and in secondary and higher educational institutions, but in schools first and foremost.

S. Kravtsov: We are doing exactly that, and there are results to show. Clearly, challenges remain. We have established a council for the protection of teachers' honor and dignity, and have issued guidance to the regions, including on dealing with aggressive students.

In closing, I would like to report on the development of vocational colleges. Here too we have very strong results: 3 million 900 thousand students are enrolled in colleges. This figure is comparable to Soviet-era data for the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) [the predecessor state to the Russian Federation within the USSR], when four million were enrolled.

And your instruction to train one million highly skilled workers by 2028 — we will actually exceed it, preparing more than 1 million 300 thousand.

Our colleges have actively engaged in supporting the front for our victory, and are working hard on that front as well.

V. Putin: We have discussed this topic on numerous occasions. It is essential to establish direct links with future employers and to build modern production facilities and appropriate laboratories — also together with future employers. That is the key to successful employment outcomes.

S. Kravtsov: Understood, Vladimir Vladimirovich. We will proceed accordingly.

V. Putin: Thank you.

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