The republican conference of leading and pedagogical workers of the education system is held annually. Its purpose is to summarize the past academic year and discuss plans for the coming. The officially stated theme is “The Development of the Education System of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic: Priorities and Prospects”. The event is scheduled for the whole day. The plenary is supposed to replace the work of the sections. 665 conference participants - employees of educational institutions are registered. Heads of state authorities and government are invited to the discussion.
The PMR Minister of Education Tatyana Loginova during the plenary session revealed the main topic of the conference - spoke about the situation in the education system and state support based on the provisions of the Pridnestrovian Development Strategy. The Head of the department recalled noticeable infrastructural transformation of recent years: thanks to the capital investment program, new buildings of schools, kindergartens, and additional education institutions are being repaired, reconstructed, and built.
Positive statistics voiced by the Minister: it is expected that in the coming academic year, 1200 children will sit at their desks more than in the past. In general, the number of minors in the republic at the beginning of 2019 exceeded 78 thousand people. The services of preschool education were used by 22811 children. This is almost 80% of representatives of the corresponding age category. For them there are 158 organizations, plus preschool groups in 35 complexes (kindergartens, schools). In the new academic year, 1235 groups were prepared for children. There is no queue for the reception of preschool children in kindergartens, ascertained during the conference. The central element of the education system remains general secondary education. In the 2018-2019 academic year 160 schools (primary, secondary, special correctional schools) were attended by 45188 people (1% more than in the previous one). There are Russian, Moldavian and Ukrainian schools. 72 of them are located in cities, 88 in the countryside. Pridnestrovian children are given additional education in 14 organizations of project team nature. Last year, 12809 students were employed. 19848 students were enrolled in vocational education institutions (16 mid-level organizations and 8 universities). 12825 of them received higher education, almost half (46%) - at state expense.
Tatyana Loginova spoke about participation of Pridnestrovians in various kinds of international events, talked about introducing the fundamentals of spiritual and moral culture, as well as entrepreneurial activity, economic and legal knowledge into school. The Head of the Ministry of Industry also stopped on changes in the certification procedure for senior and teaching staff. She noted the importance of an individual approach, focused on the advisability of creating an appeal commission (specialists who had not passed certification before went to court), said that retraining of teachers and their professional development should be carried out exclusively in a specialized university.
Another topic raised by the Minister is the conduct and results of the exam. Tatyana Loginova recalled innovations, among which the writing of an essay for admission to participation in a single state exam. Out of more than two thousand people, 19 did not complete this task. Two were removed from the audience for using technical means. 10 students literally rewrote the text of the essay posted on the Internet. In general, they failed to pass the exam, which means that 58 people did not receive certificates.
Among the problems that during the pedagogical conference were categorized as the most urgent are the lack of personnel. According to last year, 8452 people were employed in the system of general and preschool education (taking into account senior employees). Approximately 40% of them do not have qualification categories. The average age of teachers is 44 years (gradual "aging" of staff is observed; every fifth teacher is over 60; no more than 60% of graduates of specialized educational institutions come to work in the education system). An acute shortage of teachers of the Russian language, physics, chemistry, and mathematics was recorded. In addition, the minister spoke about the need to improve the level of training of mathematics teachers, as well as to carry out comprehensive work to increase the prestige of the teaching profession as a whole. The report was dedicated to the prospects for professional growth of young teachers. It was voiced in the second part of the plenary session. Another stated topic of the speech is environmental education.
The topic of dual education did not remain without discussion. The implementation of this practice-oriented system aimed at training personnel for the light and heavy industries, energy, engineering, and agriculture continues. 9 organizations of secondary vocational education and 23 enterprises are involved. Representatives of 20 working professions are trained. The training process is continued by 116 future graduate workers. At the request of the real sector of the economy, it is planned to train specialists in such areas as the operator in the plumbing and sewage system, emergency repair works, electric gas welder, electrician for repair and maintenance of electrical equipment. The discussion on the interaction of the educational sector and the business environment will continue this afternoon, the Minister of Education announced the upcoming event. Concluding the presentation, Tatyana Loginova recalled that the teacher, student and family are fundamental components of the education system. Their interaction is extremely important, the minister emphasized, highly appreciating the effectiveness of the work of the parental reception office, which was opened at the beginning of the year under the Ministry of Industry.
The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about the significance of the teacher’s work and the high quality of the Pridnestrovian education. He noted that graduates of Pridnestrovian schools worthily represent the republic in many universities around the world. This factor confirms the effectiveness of the represent system of general education, in connection with which the President noted that it should not be reformed, but should be developed.
Speaking about the place and role of the school in the life of every person and society as a whole, Vadim Krasnoselsky noted a teacher often acts as not only an educator, but also a psychologist, a parent, forming personal qualities in a child. In this regard, the President considers it unacceptable to close the so-called ungraded schools in rural areas.
Focusing on the topic of professional education, Vadim Krasnoselsky spoke about nearly ten thousand jobs created in two and a half years, noting an acute shortage of specialists for the real sector of the economy - industry, the construction industry, and agriculture. The dual-education system initiated by the President is called upon to solve this problem, the active implementation of which is already bearing fruit. Vadim Krasnoselsky set a task for further work on improving the mechanism of dual education and involving more youth in this system.
It was a question of such aspect as employment of graduates. The conclusion of a tripartite agreement upon admission to an educational institution that has become a mandatory legislative norm is designed to take into account and protect the interests of all parties. In addition, the President emphasized that working in budgetary organizations that do not require professional experience from a potential employee is good practice and an opportunity to gain the same experience, the absence of which often turns out to be a stumbling block in employment in commercial structures.
The development of the education system should be gradual and harmonious, the President believes. According to him, it is impossible to move with the times without modernization and modern technical equipment. Vadim Krasnoselsky emphasized that comfort and convenience are important both for pupils and students, and for employees of educational institutions. He recalled that over two years, about 60% of the educational infrastructure was repaired. The indicator in the coming years will be brought to 100%, the President assured.
As for the state policy regarding education, it is planned to completely free parents of schoolchildren from rent for the use of educational literature, provision of educational institutions with computer equipment and sports equipment, a gradual increase in wage growth teachers boards in the foreseeable future (according to the provisions of the Pridnestrovian Development Strategy for the next 8 years). In addition, the emphasis will be placed on the popularization of working professions (starting from school years) and the development of network forms of organization of scientific and innovative activities. Another important aspect, according to the President, is the maximum compliance of research activities with the existing realities and modern needs of the Pridnestrovian society.
Speaking about the growing number of Pridnestrovian schoolchildren, Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that these data indicate that the republic is developing, the interest in it from citizens is growing, people are returning. It is in many respects a merit of teachers - those who lay the foundations of society, educate the future of the republic. The President expressed gratitude to the pedagogical community of the republic for noble work and high professionalism.
It is traditional to reward the winners of the republican contest for the awarding of the monthly Prize of the PMR President, held among young teachers and educators, as part of a pedagogical conference. Vadim Krasnoselsky presented 25 certificates.
