Inequality sign

The Gorbachev Foundation hosted a round table dedicated to the problems of education

The intellectual potential of the population determines the country's competitiveness in the world. Therefore, quality education becomes a strategic issue. The development of the knowledge economy as opposed to the economy will also depend on its solution...

The intellectual potential of the population determines the country's competitiveness in the world. Therefore, quality education becomes a strategic issue. The development of the knowledge economy as opposed to the pipe economy will also depend on its solution. Can education be paid? What needs to be done to make education a social lift? How much money does education need? Can problems in education be solved until they are solved in the country? Is society ready to push for better education?

These questions were the focus of attention of the round table participants.

Opening the meeting, Mikhail Gorbachev reminded that what is happening now with education is already the erosion of the foundation.

One of the hottest topics is the reproduction by the education system of the inequality that exists in our society. "Does not work! - stated David Konstantinovsky, head of the Center for the Sociology of Education, Science and Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Inequality starts from the very beginning of education.” The first stage is the inaccessibility of a kindergarten, which could equalize the level of preparation of children before school. Then there are schools with very different quality of education and, accordingly, with different social composition.

The participants of the round table came to the conclusion that changes are driven by the accounting approach: not meaningful, not social, not actually educational, but only economic problems are being solved. Although momentary savings on education are significant losses in the future. It is known that it is economically expedient to invest in education! “One dollar invested in a preschooler yields a future return of $21. One dollar invested in a university student yields $4,” said Yevgeny Bunimovich, Ombudsman for Children in Moscow. But in Russia, such dependence, which works in countries where there is a demand for a highly skilled workforce, does not work. Why — explained Professor Alexander Auzan, President of the National Project Institute: “At my seminar at Moscow State University, I ask students: where do you see yourself in four years? And I hear the answers: in Germany, Ireland, the USA… The pipe economy does not require brains.”

The director of the 45th Moscow Gymnasium, Mikhail Shneider, said that budgetary supplements that gymnasiums had for the gymnasium component are now being eliminated in Moscow. At the meeting, parents were offered to pay extra for what is proposed to be canceled now. The parents refused: they agree to receive what is left from the school, and give the money to tutors for preparing their child for the Unified State Examination.

But you still need to start with the teacher. The salary of most Russian teachers is 8-9 thousand rubles. This means that only a fanatic or a woman who is supported by her husband can work as a teacher.