That the days Engel Fattakhova in the post of Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan they were considered, they began to talk in November. The rumors were about the study Tatar language that reached the Russian government. Fortunately, the point has been set in this matter. Probably, for many, Engel Fattakhov will be remembered as the person in whom the "language conflict" broke out, but during his time a number of important innovations were made.
Fight against extortions
In 2012, Engel Fattakhov replaced Albert Gilmutdinov as Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan. According to human rights activists, one of the reasons for this was the numerous cases of school extortions. Sitting in the chair of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan, Engel Fattakhov announced his desire to fight the extortion. So, in 2014, he forbade collecting money from parents for any needs: repairing classrooms and schools, buying workbooks, etc. However, the parents of schoolchildren continue to complain about the extortions. As it turned out, some educational institutions have come up with fundraising from both parents and teachers.
Learning foreign languages
Engel Fattakhov paid special attention to foreign languages. According to him, testing in different classes showed that the students do not know English well. In September 2014 Engel Fattakhov a foreign language is a compulsory subject for all first graders. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan has developed a map for improving training. So, in all 10 grades in 2018 will be tested in English with the section "speaking". Thus, according to him, the republic is preparing for the introduction of a compulsory USE in a foreign language.
Before the start of the academic year in 2015, the Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan said that in September six schools of the republic will start the Chinese language. The experiment involves a lyceum in the Bugulma region, a school in Sabinsky, a Tatar gymnasium No. 1, a gymnasium No. 6, schools No. 18, 35 of Kazan.
Testing in 4 grades
In Tatarstan, a regional program for assessing the quality of education has been developed. In addition to the USE for 11th grade graduates and the OGE for 9th grade students, testing for children graduating from grade 4 has started in Tatarstan since 2015. As Engel Fattakhov noted, it was introduced in order to regularly check the knowledge of students and get away from the perception of the exam as a psychological barrier.
Reduction of 10th and 11th grades
In 2015, Engel Fattakhov said that in order to improve the USE indicators, strong children with good academic performance should be admitted to the 10th grade, and C grade students and poor students can be sent to colleges and technical schools.This is what the schools did, but the parents were unhappy with the new method. Therefore, after inspections of the prosecutor's office of the Republic of Tatarstan, a number of educational institutions either they opened 10th grades, or provided places for students in the available ones.
Note that the problem of high school remains. In 2017, the parents of schoolchildren again turned to the supervisory authority with a request to help transfer their children to 10th grade.
Astronomy lessons
From September 2017 to the schools of Kazan astronomy. The subject is studied by pupils of the 10th and 11th grades. Schools were provided with appropriate textbooks, and teachers underwent retraining. It should be noted that the return of astronomy to schools is an all-Russian trend.
Introduction of a professional standard for teachers
In 2016, Engel Fattakhov said that the republic places particular emphasis on providing high-quality education for all schoolchildren of the Republic of Tatarstan, regardless of their place of residence: city center, remote microdistrict, village. In this regard, he spent two times in the form of the Unified State Exam for teachers, with which the teachers were extremely unhappy.
In addition, he will distribute 10,000 laptops to teachers, update working equipment and financially motivate teachers.
Where are the minister and the prosecutor?
Before the long-awaited session, at which the most pressing issue of recent months was supposed to be discussed, in addition to the main topic, several more intrigues had accumulated. Unexpectedly for everyone, the Prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan Ildus Nafikov went on vacation yesterday, right before the meeting.
The question "Has the Minister of Education already arrived?" became the most popular with journalists this morning. Engel Fattakhov still did not appear on the sidelines of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, which gave rise to suspicions, would one of his deputies take the rap in front of parliament? It soon became clear that Fattakhov was already in the hall, he just entered not from the central entrance, but by roundabout routes.
There was also the prosecutor of the republic, who specially arrived at the session, but did not say a word during the entire session. But his counterpart finally broke the vow of silence. Over the past few months, Engel Fattakhov has diligently avoided public speaking. Today he spoke about the state of affairs, speaking for the first time on the topic of the language crisis in Tatarstan.
- For 10 days, the schools of the republic were jointly inspected by the Prosecutor General's Office and Rosobrnadzor. This order of the President of Russia was published on August 28, just before the start of the school year. The President's instruction touches upon two issues: the state of the study and teaching of the Russian language, the voluntary study of the native and state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation.
Tatar–almost foreign, albeit state
There are no problems with teaching Russian in the republic, the Minister of Education said. In 2017, following the results USE results of Tatarstan graduates is higher than in most regions of Russia. The difference with Moscow is only 7 hundredths of a point. It should be expected that it will be even better, because as part of the execution of the President's instructions, the volumes of studying the Russian language were brought up to those recommended in the sample programs.
- Starting from the second quarter of this academic year, parents of students of the republic are given the opportunity to choose their native Russian language for their children to study. Schoolchildren of the republic, whose parents chose Russian, and we have 30% of them, will study 2 independent subjects within the school schedule - Russian as a state language, Russian as a native one, the minister explained. - The total number of classes in Russian language and literature in the school timetable can reach 11 hours a week or 2 lessons a day. At the same time, there are currently no exemplary programs and textbooks on Russian as a native language. We conduct a selection of training materials ourselves. It will be a combination of courses in rhetoric, world fiction, culture and in-depth study of the Russian language and literature.
However, the minister was not expected to report on the successes of Tatarstan education at all. Everyone is interested in the question of how the Tatar language will be taught in schools and whether it will be at all.
- Today the consultation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation continues. For the transitional stage, we have proposed the following. To develop versions of curricula for primary and basic general education, in which it will be possible to choose and study the native language - Russian, Tatar, Chuvash, Mari, Udmurt, Mordovian, etc. in the amount of 2-3 hours. At the same time, the state Tatar language will be studied in the amount of 2 hours by all students. In high school, the study of the Tatar language as a state language is proposed to be organized on a voluntary basis. In this situation, we believe that this approach could become a compromise solution that would allow to bring the volume of Russian language learning to the levels recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, to ensure the choice of the native language at the request of parents within the approximate area of “native language and native literature”, to preserve the possibility of learning Tatar language as the state language, to ensure the voluntariness of studying the state Tatar language at the senior level, - said Fattakhov. - During a regular meeting with the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Olga Vasilyeva yesterday, she confirmed her readiness to agree on this compromise solution. We expect to receive a corresponding letter next week. Further, we consider it necessary to organize joint work to amend federal educational standards with the obligatory participation of representatives of the regions in this work.
- In the 90s, there was a transition to universal teaching of the Tatar language. This required attracting personnel, including through the retraining of non-core specialists. In parallel, programs and textbooks were developed. By the beginning of the 90s, there was practically no experience of teaching the Tatar language in a foreign language audience. There are two main problems of teaching the Tatar language. The first is the insufficient methodological preparation of teachers for working in a foreign language classroom. We do not fully realize that we are entering the classroom with children for whom the Tatar language is almost a foreign language, albeit the state one. The second - programs and textbooks are aimed at studying the structure of the language, and not at communicative technologies, - the minister summed up.
"Not a single Tatar teacher will be fired during the school year."
The new curriculum will increase the workload for Russian language teachers. The total need for them is about 220 people. The same number of teachers of the Tatar language can be made redundant. All in all, there are about one and a half thousand of them in the republic. The minister said that even if their teaching load is reduced, the salary will remain the same for two months. The fate of the teachers was clarified by the President of the republic.
- We have prepared an option that takes into account all the norms of federal legislation and the laws of the republic. It has been preliminarily agreed with the specialists of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. This document has been introduced. Yesterday our minister met with Olga Yuryevna (Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of Russia - Ed.), there is confirmation. We have made a decision that not a single teacher will be fired. We will take all the necessary measures for a sufficient number of Russian language teachers, for this we have a reserve. And at the same time, not a single teacher of the Tatar language will be fired during the academic year. We already have a roadmap for each school. People should be calm, schools should be calm. There will be no illegal, illegal steps on our part. We are waiting for a new federal standard, where the state language of the republic will be taught two hours a week. I also negotiated with the administration, there is understanding, I really hope that in the near future we should sort this issue out. We must strictly comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tatarstan, laws and regulations issued by the Ministry of Education of Russia. This path must be traversed. Today I would not like to discuss again the importance and seriousness of this task. Let our colleagues work with the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, and after that we will report to the parliament on the work done, - suggested Rustam Minnikhanov.
After this statement by the President, Farid Mukhametshin proposed to abandon the debate, and postpone the discussion of the burning issue for the next session. They promised to announce her date later.
"We go, as always, at the forefront"
After the meeting, journalists lined up around Razil Valeev, the chairman of the committee on culture, science, education and national issues of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, who were interested in how to deal with schools where meetings had already taken place and parents had chosen curricula, whether it would be necessary to revise the already selected programs, whether Tatar language in first grade?
- It all depends on what decision will be made in Moscow, in the Ministry of Education of our republic and the President of the Russian Federation. I think that if the consistency of positions was reflected in the conversation of the ministers, then changes should be made to the GEF Russian Federation, said Razil Valeev.
- Will this apply only to Tatarstan or to all republics? - the correspondent of "MK-Povolzhye" inquired.
- To all republics.
- That is, in fact, Tatarstan opens the way for the study of national languages in all republics?
- Yes, you can think so. On October 24, at a meeting in Makhachkala, I spoke about this, and there all the national republics supported Tatarstan's proposals. They also work, not just us. For example, Yakutia is very active in this area, Chuvashia. But we are, as always, at the forefront.
Tatarstan complies with all the norms of federal legislation when drawing up educational programs in schools. This was stated at a briefing by the head of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov, answering a question from a KazanFirst correspondent whether the republic will change the norms of teaching Russian and Tatar languages.- We have the Constitution of Tatarstan, there is a law on education standards, a law on state languages - Russian and Tatar. In this regard, we have no violations. All our actions are coordinated with the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. We, the ministry, are only executors. We keep the law. We have an education program, and we will continue to act within its framework. We are doing a lot in terms of languages, the concept of teaching the Tatar language has been adopted specifically for children who are Russian-speaking, and for Tatar children who are not fluent in Tatar., - said the minister.
According to him, the position of the ministry is as follows - every parent will not mind if his child is fluent in Russian, Tatar and English.
Earlier, the minister said that the words of the Russian president, spoken at the Council for Interethnic Relations on July 20 in Yoshkar-Ola and dedicated to the priority of studying the Russian language in schools, do not apply to language policy in Tatarstan.
In his speech in the capital of Mari El, Putin instructed all heads of regions to closely monitor so that no one is forced to learn foreign languages.
- I would like to remind, dear friends, that the Russian language for us is the state language, the language of interethnic communication, and nothing can replace it. He is the natural spiritual framework of our entire multinational country. Everyone should know it ... The languages of the peoples of Russia are also an integral part of the original culture of the peoples of Russia. Learning these languages is a constitutionally guaranteed right, a voluntary right. Forcing a person to learn a language that is not native to him is just as unacceptable as reducing the level of teaching Russian. I draw special attention to this of the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation- said Vladimir Putin.
Radio Azatlyk asked representatives of the national republics of Russia to comment on President Putin's words on how Russian and native languages should be taught in the country's schools. "Idel.Realii" offers a short translation of the material published in the Tatar language.
Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov: “In Tatarstan, the Tatar language is the state language for everyone. This is written in black and white in our Constitution. We operate within the bounds of the law. Consensus reached. Educational programs comply with federal standards. There are no complaints from the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia ”.
Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan Rafael Khakimov: “Tatarstan has its own Constitution and law on state languages. On the basis of these laws, both state languages are taught in the same amount. The Supreme Court of Russia made its decision on this matter and recognized that it was absolutely legal. In order to exclude the teaching of the Tatar language, it will be necessary to change the Constitution. Hopefully it won't come to that. "
Professor at the Faculty of History of Bashkir state university Marat Kulsharipov: “These words of Putin are the next step in the creation of the Russian nation. The saddest thing is that top echelon officials succumb to this. Now in Bashkortostan the Bashkir language is not taught as a state language. Even prosecutorial inspections were carried out - allegedly teaching the Bashkir language as the state language is contrary to the law. All this comes down from above! There they came up with a thesis of a single Russian nation and are putting it into practice.
Russia is following the path of the former Yugoslavia. There is a policy against the preservation of the language, history, and traditions of non-Russian peoples. This is done on the sly. "
Member of Parliament (Il Tumen) of Yakutia, Chairman of the Sakha Public Center Ivan Shamaev: “These words of Putin refer primarily to Tatarstan. It seems that the teaching of the national language remains only in this republic. If Tatarstan is able to adequately respond to this pressure, we will applaud standing. It would seem that in the national republics the state languages should be taught without fail, but de facto this has long been absent in almost all republics.
I think Putin's words that national languages should be taught on a voluntary basis is what he really wants. The national republics have to bear the burden of preserving their languages themselves.
In Komi, the Komi language is not taught, in Buryatia the same way - these languages are threatened with extinction. But in Tatarstan the situation is different. He set an example to many. I hope the republic will defend its national rights. "
Recall that on July 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about teaching Russian and national languages in the country.
Forcing a person to learn a language that is not native to him is just as unacceptable as reducing the level and time of teaching Russian in schools of the national republics of the Russian Federation. I draw special attention to this of the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, - Putin said at a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations, which took place in Yoshkar-Ola.
Learning these languages is a constitutionally guaranteed right, a voluntary right, he said.