More freedom

It is illegal to force teachers to sit in the school premises 36 hours a week, as they began to demand in some Russian regions. The Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a draft order prohibiting this from teachers

Last year, Novaya Gazeta raised the issue that in some schools in the country, teachers began to introduce “serfdom”: they were required to serve 36 hours a week even if the teacher did not have lessons at that time

The Ministry of Education and Science responded to our request that the requirement that has recently appeared in some schools for teachers to sit in the school premises 36 hours a week is illegal. The teacher at school is obliged to be during those lessons that he conducts according to the schedule regulated by schedules and work plans. The teacher can prepare for lessons, write lesson plans and his programs, check notebooks, tests, tests and prepare assignments for tests, essays, essays at his own discretion: at school, in the library, at home, in the park, in the museum.

But the complaints continued to come.

And now the Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a draft order on working time and rest time for teachers ("On Approval of the Peculiarities of Working Time and Rest Time for Pedagogical and Other Employees of Organizations Carrying out Educational Activities").

As explained in the press service of the ministry, the signals about "excesses" on the part of the school authorities regarding the alignment of working hours are not widespread, but they are sent to the Ministry. That is why the draft order has been prepared.

It improves the position of educators and clarifies for employers, eliminating opportunities for abuse. Restricts the employer's ability to set teachers' schedules for preparing for lessons, as well as schedules for attendance at the institution on days free from lessons, teachers' councils and parent-teacher meetings. It prohibits requiring employees to be at school on these days, clearly states that "mandatory presence in the organization on this day (time period) is not required." This is not specified in the current version of the order.

In addition to a clear explanation that there is no serfdom for teachers, there are some other bonuses in the project.

It is proposed to abolish the norm now in force, which allows increasing the working time of the teacher up to 20 minutes due to unspecified breaks during the conduct of "paired" classes. And also to abolish the norm based on the idea of "contingent work", when the employer can send the employee during the holidays, for example, to work in a health camp - in fact, to another employer.

No innovations are introduced into the norms of the duration of working hours, or into the norms of the hours of pedagogical work for the wage rate.