University science: how to master biathlon

Less than two weeks have passed, and university teachers again received an impartial assessment from the Minister of Education .

This time the reason was not bribery, unprofessionalism or shenanigans. The reason is more serious - the reluctance to engage in scientific research, and not just, but “at a high level.”

In principle, there is nothing new; demands for university science to catch up have been heard for the last two years. Or rather, these are requirements not so much for science, but for those who engage in it.

But, as we see, things are still there. Why are teachers so disobedient, why do they anger and irritate the minister, distracting him from important matters?

Let's try to figure it out.

Let's start with the fact that the requirement for a university teacher to engage in deep, fundamental research is absurd. I think it's quite clear why. Because he is a teacher. His task is to teach, not to research. And the basis of his work activity is the teaching process, and not the research process. He is paid a salary for this, and the institution in which he works is called not a research institute, but an institution of higher professional education. A university teacher is, first of all, a pedagogical worker; he must draw up plans, prepare for lectures and seminars, advise students on complex topics, take tests and exams, and not fly to scientific symposiums, or sit on scientific expeditions for years.

It is clear that the Ministry of Education wants to get two in one (teacher and scientist) for the same money, but a biathlete, let me remind you, is a rather average shooter and skier in character. The same will happen with the teacher-scientist, whom they now want to fit on two chairs and at the same time demand from him simultaneous virtuosity in both types of activity.

Well, okay, let’s leave the discussion of the reasonableness of the order and move on to why it cannot be implemented.

Even if we managed to breed a new breed of either centaurs or biathletes, the matter would die out very quickly, because the imperfection of university science is associated not only with the subjective factor, not only with laziness, or lack of ability. It is associated with the lack of objective conditions for the development of scientific activity.

Maybe I’ll open America for someone, but the fact is that in recent years, university teachers have been doing science at their own expense. The same defense of a dissertation is considered as something that is necessary exclusively for the person defending himself; in most cases, all expenses (I’m not talking about bribes) for its defense are paid by him. A trip to a conference is at your own expense, work in the archives is paid out of your own pocket. I'm not even talking about such a thing as publishing the results of scientific research - an obligatory item for scientific activity, and the most expensive. In my ignorance, I don’t know how this matter stands in the West, but here a person pays for being engaged in scientific activities (open the prospectus of any conference or scientific publication - from 500 rubles to plus infinity per page of text).

In light of this, the minister’s complaints look like a call for teachers to pay even more for scientific activities.

However, Lebanese demands, with all their shortcomings, can be implemented. Under certain conditions, of course. To do this, all you need to do is:

- reduce the teaching load for a university teacher by 2-2.5 times, from 900-1000 hours to 450-500, and maybe even less;

— prescribe payment for carrying out scientific activities, if it is required. (At the moment, in relation to the salary of a university teacher, it is one of the varieties of corvée, since the salary is only for classroom hours). For example, publishing a monograph takes 1000 hours, an article costs 50 hours, etc.

— abolish the collection of fees for the publication of scientific articles and monographs. Scientific research is carried out in the interests of society, and therefore the authors should not pay for their results from their own pockets;

— to ensure a constant process of internship, advanced training of scientific and pedagogical personnel in scientific centers, funding this process accordingly;

- ensure the participation of scientific and teaching staff in various kinds of symposia, conferences, field work and work on expeditions not on a grant basis, but what is called in fact, on demand and necessity;

— organize a full-fledged exchange of scientific information, a publicly accessible center for this purpose, a website where one could familiarize oneself with all the scientific research carried out within the framework of university science.

This is generally the first thing that comes to mind.

What, Mr. Minister?

You say there is no money. Well then, look first, and then start demanding.