"Not that he said - immediately dismissed." Students against the administration of St. Petersburg State University

Students of the Institute of History - the former History of the History of St. Petersburg State University opposed the order to reduce teachers and plans to abolish special courses in many areas. Participants in the Studs Council demand that the rector cancel innovations, which, in their opinion, "destroy science."

In April 2019, the leadership of St. Petersburg University issued order No. 3773 that special or elective courses will continue to be opened only if at least 10 people are recorded on them. Students opposed this order: they are afraid that its execution will lead to the closure of such courses as antiquity, medievalism, source studies, ethnography and many others, and this will deprive the History of a “visiting card” - the opportunity to prepare “historians of high level and rare specialties”. Students also oppose the reduction of teachers, in their opinion, the largest in the history of the faculty.

Even earlier, 3773 students were opposed to the order of 3773. At this faculty of 500 special courses, 200 can be abolished. Students are confident that the result of "learning by one template" will be a reduction in teachers and the failure of admission to the magistracy and undergraduate. On June 25, the Student Council was held at St. Petersburg State University, students demanded that the rector stop the dismissal of teachers and a reduction in the number of special courses. A graduate of the Institute of History of St. Petersburg State University Yana Bespalchikova believes that students are still lacking: languages - ancient and new, textology, paleography, numismatics, good course about changing humanitarian knowledge in the 20th century, courses of economics and psychology, and order 3773 turns the Isteratic faculty of a provincial university.

The corridor of the building of the twelve colleges of St. Petersburg State University

- The administration does not understand how in reality the educational process works, it is guided by formal criteria. From her point of view, courses that are unpopular, duplicated, are not needed are removed. But in fact, even if they have similar names, they can be fundamentally different. Not only at the Institute of History, but everywhere at St. Petersburg State University, the emphasis is on common average knowledge, and specialization suffers. The administration does not want to delve into narrow issues, but does not want to allow the departments to make decisions. Therefore, there is no dialogue between narrow specialists and the administration, which has only a state standard and the main programs. She believes that the undergraduate gives students general knowledge, and specialization will be in the magistracy. But after all, many skills, such as necessary for antichists and mediasts, are owned by ancient languages, or the ability to work in the field necessary for ethnographers and archaeologists, it is too late to develop in the magistracy.

For several years, many courses were transferred to online format, the teacher no longer needs to pay salaries, and, apparently, some departments will be disbanded. I believe that online courses do not replace live learning. And they are conducted through the communicative information system of the university, which is inconvenient, there are a lot of errors and problems in it.

But the worst thing is that the St. Petersburg School of Archeology, which was quoted in Soviet times and now, will not have. For example, a graduate of this department, Mikhail Kazan, began his career here, and now he in France heads an institution that is engaged in excavations after the great relocation of the peoples. Now the only physical anthropologist at the university has resigned from St. Petersburg State University, he was very popular in all expeditions, since archaeologists interpret the remains of material culture, and the remains of people - a physical anthropologist. Only he could prepare successors in the walls of the university, now he will not be. The School of Medievatics also suffers. In St. Petersburg, several large collections of Western manuscripts are in the RND, at the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and at the library of the Academy of Sciences. It would seem that it is necessary to train specialists to work with them, but there is almost no paleographers at the department, and teacher Vladimir Shishkin, who left, was one of the few. So the university is very suffering from dismissal, ”says Yana Bespalchikova.

Meanwhile, the director of the Institute of History of St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Abdulla Daudov, in the official commentary on the website of St. Petersburg State University, assures that we are not talking about mass dismissals, the university is left by those who have not passed the competition to replace the posts of the faculty:

"The last competition was announced on March 22, 2019, and its results were summed up on May 30, 2019. So, five people were not allowed to participate in the competition due to inconsistencies with the minimum qualification requirements, seven people participated in the competition, but lost their competitors, and two people refused to participate in the competition for personal reasons ... among the participants of the competition there was real competition, which allowed the commission to select the best ... information about the information about The fact that the order No. 3773/1 ”On the establishment of the requirements for the minimum and the maximum number for the study of disciplines” will lead to a reduction in any departments at the Institute of the History of St. Petersburg State University is not true about the closure of the electriva, ”the Daudov’s comment says.

The main building of St. Petersburg State University

Student of the Institute of History Nikita Nikolaev graduates from the magistracy, he sees the problem not only in order 3773, but also in the merger of the two departments - ethnology and the history of culture.

- They have always been small, especially ethnology, where more than 10 people never studied on the course, now, according to this order, students will have to choose between these two electrics, although these are very different specialties. As for the departure of teachers, we always say not about dismissal, but about the fact that they are not undergoing a competition. But the requirements for the competition are unreasonably strict. For example, archaeologist Murashkin does not have a degree, but he is a first -class specialist, a wonderful scientist - and he did not go through a competition where, under the conditions, a degree is binding. And so, it turns out that it is very difficult to get a narrow specialty. Students want this, they stand for diversity, but in the end it may turn out that all historians will become equal, as for selection. And all over the world, a narrow specialization is put at the forefront, science always needs narrow specialists. And we have no antiquity at the department of antiquity on the history of ancient Rome, and this is a terrible thing.

According to Nikita Nikolaev, first order No. 3773 was issued, and then the draft clarification to him, which was supposed to suspend his action, but the electrician for the next school year was chosen so that it became clear - the order was never suspended. Changes in educational activities should be discussed at the Great Student Council, but for some reason the draft clarification of the order, for the discussion of which was allocated only 7 days, was sent to the post office not to the current, but the former chairman of the Great Student Council, as a result, the deadlines were missed. In June, the Great Student did not collect the quorum, so historians decided to act independently.

- Other faculties support us, but the student council system could not help us. Why-I don’t know, I am only interested in science, and I see that, due to the decisions of the administration of St. Petersburg State University, the St. Petersburg historical school receives a serious blow, ”concludes Nikita Nikolaev.

In the current situation, the chairman of the Student Council of the Institute of History of Leah Farrakhov attaches great importance to student solidarity, despite the fact that the quorum did not gather in the Great Studyer.

Rector of St. Petersburg State University Nikolai Kropachev, 2008

- At a meeting of the Studs council of the Institute of History there were about 300 people, there were students from other faculties, and this is despite the fact that many are already going on vacation. Our resolution has already gone to the rector, it has been officially registered, and there is a petition in the name of the rector on the Internet, there are two main requirements: to cancel the order on elective disciplines and stop the reduction of teachers. Now such a student rise - I do not think that the administration will make decisions without taking into account our opinion. It so happened that student solidarity is not concentrated in a large Studsite, historians are in the forefront. But many people suffer from reform. And I don’t even know what is more important - elective courses or that there will be no one to teach soon. I myself am studying at the Department of Ethnography, and this year she lost four teachers, that is, half. We have a separate profile, 4 practices and a master's program - the remaining teachers will be incredibly difficult - so many diverse disciplines. A teacher who was supposed to read in my 3rd year two seminars in Siberia had not been allowed, he was not allowed to the competition, since at that moment the Higher Attestation Commission that he had a candidate degree had not yet arrived. And when there was a scientific council, confirmation came. But a person does not work anymore, although no one had doubts about his value as a teacher. After all, I’m also a delegate to the scientific council, I see this competition with my own eyes - it hurts to look at it. Each head of the department defends its teachers, but what to do when you have 18 applicants on 7 bets?

-Leah, you decided to defend your courses and your teachers, but do the teachers support you?

-They have completely bonded contracts, said something wrong-and immediately dismissed. I am sure that until the last events of some teachers had a biased attitude towards students, they thought we did not give a damn about abbreviations, but now they saw that the students were playing for them, realizing that without teachers the institution would be empty. After a meeting of the Studs council, I heard a lot of warm words, they see our efforts, feel that everyone has one goal - not to let the historical education destroy.

The former head of the Student Council, the East Facanium Vasily Kunin, was once deducted from the university for too active activities twice, now he continues to receive education in another educational institution, but decided to help students of the Institute of History.

- We have already expressed our requirements to the rector, the petition is launched on Change.org , there will still be a petition on the swarm , this is a special portal, if the petition is gaining 100,000 signatures there, then the State Duma is obliged to consider it. Now we are actively looking for famous people who would have been defended, the task is to show the administration that we will not calm down, that we will have to go to the dialogue. Only the director of the Institute of History came to the Studs council, who has nothing to do with making decisions, none of the rector has come - it means that we must make them hear us. We are considering different options for further actions - for example, conducting an all -intelligence rally - because the transformations relate to everyone, there are dissatisfied at every faculty, and we do not see any positive result of the reform. And most importantly, such things should undergo a wide discussion with experts, with the public, and primarily with students, ”says Vasily Kunin.