Objectives of private education in the country discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO
The plenary session "The Role and Potential of the
Private Sector in the Formation of a Sovereign Education System" was held at
the RUSSIA EXPO. It was organized within the framework of the Non-State
Education Forum, which was launched at the Exposition. The industry
participants and government representatives worked out specific mechanisms of
interaction between private education and the state to solve strategic tasks
and measures for the development of the industry.
People have a demand for their children to study in private
schools, said Alexei Nechaev, head of the New People party faction in the State
Duma. The deputy cited the results of a survey that took place in December -
1,200 parents took part in it. According to the results of the survey, 27% of
them want their children to study in private schools, 39% would like it if they
don't have to pay, and 54% have a positive attitude to public-private
partnership in education.
At the same time, only 205 thousand out of 18 million
schoolchildren study in non-state institutions. Among the problems Alexei
Nechaev noted the high threshold for opening new schools, difficulties in obtaining
a license and standardization of the educational process. To solve them, it is
necessary to give unused state property to private schools, cancel outdated
requirements and provide flexibility of educational programs for them.
"The industry has great potential. It is possible to
increase this volume by about 20 times. Russian President Vladimir Putin said
that it is necessary to move from a demand economy to a supply economy. For the
sphere of private education, it is necessary to solve issues. Let's make a
working group together with the Association of Non-State Education, which would
outline a working map and follow it," Alexei Nechaev addressed the
participants of the discussion.
Private education today gives an opportunity to get
knowledge at any time and in any place, said Boris Chernyshov, Deputy Chairman
of the State Duma.
"It gives mobility - you can get service on vocational
retraining, on additional education wherever you want. The most important thing
is that non-state education acts as a driver here," said Boris Chernyshov.
At the same time, the role of private education in Russia is
now ambivalent - schools are perceived as elitist, and as for universities,
people remember that they used to be closed down a lot. Now the bar for private
education is quite high, the deputy noted, and needs support from the state.
Now private schools must also fulfill the state tasks in the
field of education, said Olga Kazakova, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on
Education. This is declared by the regional authorities.
The same applies to private universities - they fulfill educational objectives, said Ekaterina Kharchenko, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education.
"The country needs the training of qualified personnel not only in state universities, but also in private ones. Therefore, first of all, it is about the quality of education. But I agree that it is not only a question of knowledge, skills, abilities, but also the education of a real citizen. And here we are counting on the integration of the state objective in terms of spiritual, moral and patriotic education. It is important for a person not only to be a specialist, but also to love his homeland and try to create for the benefit of the Fatherland," said Ekaterina Kharchenko.
The participants of the session came to the conclusion that it is necessary to build cooperation between the private sector and the state and increase its level. This will lead to the fact that private education will become more accessible.
The Foreign Minister
will speak at one of the key events of the Symposium - the panel discussion
"Future of Multipolar World."
The first event to be held at the Russia National Centre, which is being established by the order of President Vladimir Putin, will be the International Science Fiction Symposium and Exhibition "Inventing the Future". The symposium will take place from November 4 to 6.
Tomorrow, the International RUSSIA EXPO will conclude its work. From November 2023 to July 2024, it was visited by more than 18 million guests.