About what days Engel Fattakhov in the position of Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan were considered, they began to talk in November. The reason for the rumors was about the study of the Tatar language, which reached the Russian government. Fortunately, the point in this matter has been put. Probably, for many, Engel Fattakhov will be remembered as the person under whom the “language conflict” broke out, but a number of important innovations were made under him.

The fight against requisitions

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 it was the numerous cases of school extortion. Sitting in the chair of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan, Engel Fattakhov announced his desire to fight extortion. So, in 2014, he forbade collecting money from parents for any needs: repairing classes and schools, buying workbooks, etc. However, parents of schoolchildren continue to complain about the requisitions. As it turned out, some educational institutions came 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 students do not know English well. In September 2014, Engel Fattakhov made a foreign language a compulsory subject for all first graders. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan has developed a map to improve training. So, in 2018, all 10th graders will be tested in English with the “speaking” section. Thus, according to him, the republic is preparing for the introduction of a mandatory USE in a foreign language.

Before the start of the academic year in 2015, the Minister of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan announced that in September six schools of the republic begin the Chinese language. The experiment involves a lyceum in the Bugulma district, a school in Sabinsky, Tatar gymnasium No. 1, gymnasium No. 6, schools No. 18, 35 of Kazan.

Testing in 4th grade

Tatarstan has developed a regional program for assessing the quality of education. In addition to the USE for graduates of 11th grade and the OGE for students of 9th grade, since 2015 testing for children graduating from 4th grade has started in Tatarstan. As Engel Fattakhov noted, it was introduced in order to regularly check the knowledge of students and get away from the perception of the USE as a psychological barrier.

Reduction of 10th and 11th grades

In 2015, Engel Fattakhov said that in order to improve the performance of the Unified State Examination, strong guys with good academic performance should be admitted to the 10th grade, and three and two students can be sent to colleges and technical schools.

So the schools did, but the parents were dissatisfied with the new method. Therefore, after inspections by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Tatarstan, a number of educational institutions either opened 10th grades or provided places for students in existing ones.

Note that the problem of senior classes remains. In 2017, parents of schoolchildren again turned to the supervisory authority with a request to help transfer their children to the 10th grade.

Astronomy lessons

Since September 2017, astronomy has been in Kazan schools. The subject is studied by students of the 10th and 11th grades. Schools were provided with appropriate textbooks and teachers were retrained. 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 special emphasis on providing quality education to all schoolchildren in the Republic of Tatarstan, regardless of their place of residence: city center, remote microdistrict, village. In this regard, he held two times in the form of the Unified State Examination for teachers, with which the teachers were extremely dissatisfied.

In addition, he will distribute 10 thousand laptops to teachers, upgrade working equipment and financially motivate teachers.

Tatarstan complies with all norms of federal legislation in the preparation of 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 the question of a KazanFirst correspondent whether the republic will change the norms for teaching Russian and Tatar languages.

- We have the Constitution of Tatarstan, there is a law on the norms of education, a law on the 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 comply with 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 the Tatar language, the minister noted.

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 stated that the words of the President of Russia, spoken at the Council on Interethnic Relations on July 20 in Yoshkar-Ola and dedicated to the priority of studying the Russian language in schools, do not apply to the language policy in Tatarstan.

In his speech in the capital of Mari El, Putin instructed all heads of regions to closely monitor that no one is forced to learn non-native languages.

- I want to remind you, dear friends, that the Russian language for us is the state language, the language of interethnic communication, and it cannot be replaced by anything. He is the natural spiritual frame 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 lowering the level of teaching Russian. I draw the special attention of the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation to this- said Vladimir Putin.

Speech by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the Council on Interethnic Relations on July 20 in Yoshkar-Ola, at which he announced the inadmissibility of compulsory teaching of a non-native language in the national republics and the reduction of hours in the Russian language, in Tatarstan they are trying in every possible way to disavow. This is done in two ways: they pretend that Putin's words do not concern Tatarstan at all, but he allegedly speaks about some other region, or they simply deny the statement of the head of state.

The Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan behaved most revealingly in this regard Engel Fattakhov, who combined both positions in his comment: firstly, Putin’s words are not about Tatarstan, and secondly, here in Tatarstan everything is according to the law (let’s clarify, according to local laws).

“In the common people, this is called“ turn on a fool ”, - this is how the chairman of the Society of Russian Culture of Tatarstan reacted to Fattakhov’s words Mikhail Shcheglov. According to him, “the reaction of the Russian-speaking residents of Tatarstan to the words of the President of Russia was one - enthusiasm. However, the leader of the ORCT says, if “A” was said, then “B” should also follow, meaning that after the words of the President of Russia, instructions and specific actions to change the situation should follow, since the problem in the language education policy of Tatarstan is recognized as relevant. . At the same time, Mikhail Shcheglov repeats: “The Tatar language should be developed and preserved, first of all, by its speakers, and not by the Russian-speaking residents of Tatarstan: the experiment on compulsory teaching of the Tatar language to Russian-speakers in the republic has failed for a quarter of a century, it’s time to recognize this and accept it as a reality, refuse him".

Shcheglov is echoed by the head of the Center for Ethnocultural Strategy of Education of the Federal Institute for the Development of Education Olga Artemenko, observing the reaction in Tatarstan. In her comment, she also said that it seems that "in Tatarstan, a fool was turned on" at Putin's statement. “I read the commentary of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, Engel Fattakhov, that the speech of the President of Russia on the inadmissibility of learning a non-native language and reducing hours into Russian in the school schedule does not apply to Tatarstan,” continues Artemenko, “he is wrong when he says that the statement Putin does not concern Tatarstan and Bashkortostan: it is precisely these regions that the words of the President of Russia concern in the first place, and Tatarstan even more than Bashkortostan.”

According to the specialist, the situation in Bashkiria is better in the sense that local legislation does not indicate the obligation to study the state language of the republic (Bashkir), and in Tatarstan the study of Tatar is an obligation. Therefore, in Ufa it is possible to challenge the practice of compulsory teaching of the Bashkir language: even the prosecutor's office of Bashkortostan can issue a warning to the head of the republic about the inadmissibility of violating the law when schoolchildren are obliged to study the Bashkir language. In Tatarstan, according to local legislation, the study of the state language of the republic (Tatar) is mandatory, so it is impossible for parents to achieve through the courts the voluntariness of its study.

Artemenko herself proposes to distinguish between the concepts of "state language of Russia", "state language of the republic" and "mother tongue". “Minister Fattakhov, stating that officials in Tatarstan comply with the federal standard of education, is disingenuous, because there is no federal standard for teaching the state language of the republic, there is only a federal standard for teaching the state language of the Russian Federation. “In places densely populated by Tatars, Tatar should be studied as a native language, in places where Russians are densely populated, Russian should be taught as a native language, and in multi-ethnic regions, like Tatarstan or Bashkortostan, there should be a choice in learning the native language, which, alas, is not” , - states the Moscow specialist. “There will be no conflicts and protests if the state language of the republic is also studied by choice,” Artemenko is convinced, adding that if the authorities of Tatarstan agree to this, then no statements will follow from Putin pointing to the ethnolinguistic problem in the national republics.

One way or another, Putin's speech in Yoshkar-Ola for the second time this summer is an unambiguous signal sent to the authorities of Tatarstan ( the first case is the story around the non-renewal of the agreement on the delimitation of powers between Tatarstan and the federal center - ed. EADaily). All this is happening against the backdrop of the demonstrative silence of the President of Tatarstan. Rustam Minnikhanov who prefers not to comment on this issue. Perhaps Minnikhanov understands that if he now speaks out, then he will have to openly take one of the sides in this conflict, and this is fraught with either a loss of support from the Tatar nationalists (quite influential in the establishment of the republic), or, much more seriously, a conflict with the President of the Russian Federation. Perhaps that is why Minnikhanov preferred to go on vacation, leaving the main “Russian” Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan in his place Alexey Pesoshin.

Sergey Ignatiev

Where are the minister and prosecutor?

Before the long-awaited session, which was supposed to discuss the most pressing issue of recent months, in addition to the main topic, several more intrigues have 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 among 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 that one of his deputies would not take the rap in front of the parliament? It soon became clear that Fattakhov was already in the hall, he just entered not from the main entrance, but by detours.

There was also the prosecutor of the republic, who specially arrived for the session, but did not utter a word during the entire session. But his counterpart finally broke the vow of silence. For the past few months, Engel Fattakhov has carefully 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.

- Within 10 days, a joint inspection of the Prosecutor General's Office and Rosobrnadzor took place in the schools of the republic. Such an order of the President of Russia was published on August 28, just before the start of the school year. The President's order touches upon two issues: the state of studying and teaching the Russian language, and the voluntary study of the native and state languages ​​of the republics of the Russian Federation.

Tatar–almost foreign, though state-owned

There are no problems with teaching the Russian language in the republic, the Minister of Education said. In 2017, according to the results of the Unified State Examination, the results of Tatarstan graduates are higher than in most regions of Russia. The difference with Moscow is only 7 hundredths of a point. We should expect 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 exemplary 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 the Russian language, and we have 30% of them, will study 2 independent subjects within the school schedule - Russian as a state, Russian as a mother tongue, - the minister explained. – The total number of classes in the Russian language and literature in the school schedule can reach 11 hours per week or 2 lessons per day. At the same time, there are no exemplary programs and textbooks for Russian as a native language. We compile our own learning materials. These will be combinations of courses in rhetoric, world fiction, culture and an in-depth study of the Russian language and literature.

However, what was expected from the minister was not a report on the successes of the Tatarstan education. Everyone is interested in the question of how the Tatar language will be taught in schools and whether they will be at all.

- Today, consultations with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation continue. For the transitional phase, we proposed the following. Develop curricula options 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 the state language is proposed to be organized on a voluntary basis. In the current situation, we believe that this approach could be a compromise solution that would allow us to bring the volumes of studying the Russian language up to those recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, ensure the choice of the native language at the request of parents within the framework of the exemplary area “native language and native literature”, preserve the possibility of studying Tatar language as the state language, to ensure the voluntariness of the study of the state Tatar language in the senior level,” said Fattakhov. - During the next 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 the corresponding letter next week. Further, we consider it necessary to organize joint work on introducing changes to 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 the involvement of 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 in teaching the Tatar language to a foreign-language audience. There are two main problems in 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 a class of children for whom the Tatar language is almost a foreign language, although it is the state language. The second is that programs and textbooks are aimed at studying the structure of the language, and not at communication technologies, the minister summed up.

“Not a single Tatar teacher will be fired during the school year”

The new curriculum entails an increase in the load on Russian language teachers. The total need for them is about 220 people. The same number of teachers of the Tatar language may be laid off. In total, 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 a version that takes into account all the norms of federal legislation and the laws of the republic. It has been previously agreed with specialists from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. This document has been submitted. Yesterday our minister met with Olga Yurievna (Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of Russia. - Ed.), there is confirmation. We have decided that no teacher will be fired. We will take all necessary measures for a sufficient number of teachers of the Russian language, for this we have a reserve. And at the same time, not a single Tatar language teacher will be fired during the school 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 an understanding, I really hope that we should resolve this issue in the near future. We must strictly comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tatarstan, laws and regulations issued by the Russian Ministry of Education. This path must be taken. Today I would not like to discuss once again the importance and seriousness of this task. Let's 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 until the next session. The date was promised to be announced later.

"We are, as always, at the forefront"

After the meeting, journalists lined up around the chairman of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and National Affairs of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan Razil Valeev, who were interested in what to do with schools where meetings had already been held and parents had chosen curricula, whether already selected programs would have to be reviewed, whether the Tatar language would appear 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 Federal State Educational Standard of the Russian Federation, Razil Valeev said.

- Will it spread only to Tatarstan or to all the republics? - the correspondent of "MK-Povolzhye" asked.

- All republics.

– That is, in fact, Tatarstan opens the way for the study of national languages ​​in all republics?

- Yes, you can count it. On October 24, at a meeting in Makhachkala, I spoke about this, and there all the national republics supported Tatarstan's proposals. They also act, not only us. For example, Yakutia is very active in this area, Chuvashia. But we are, as always, at the forefront.