Moscow, September 24, 2008

Dear chairman and dear colleagues!

On logic and contents of the program

The program preparation was based on the first step of national project's results and the council's developed modern model of education. The work was coordinated with the concept of long-term social-economical development.

The modern model look distinguished four key system-wide tasks: to make education an effective tool of social development, of formation in the basis education, in the context of enquired competence standards (skills to analyze, to take decisions, to team-work, to carry out one's own projects), of flexible qualification refreshment according to changing economics needs, and to create feedback mechanisms of education and society. The program's aim is to provide conditions and effective tools and to introduce the modern model of education.

While forming the system of program measures the results of the national project are used in the following way. Firstly the basis of the measures is a successful model of new educational policy.

For example, it's the creation of national research universities, applied baccalaureate, schools for senior pupils with a wide choice of training as well as for teenagers and junior pupils, the spread of research schools and research grants for talented youth, family upbringing support on the basis of nursery schools and social work and so on.

Secondly, the work is carried out with the tools and principles proved their efficiency in the framework of the national project. This is a competitive support of leaders, civil institutions, new tools of organization and finance, the logic of "Money for obligations" and "Money for efficiency".

The program also solves the problem of state measures' coordination on education development. It is a general platform for federal and regional projects and programs in the field of education (including the national project and federal target program for education development).

For 2009 there are national project activities planned according to approved parameters, their systematization on general program tasks and support in the framework of the FTPED and new program "Scientific and scientific-training personnel" in compliance with existing limits.

In 2010 the integration of projects and target programs will be continued and FTPED for 2011-2015 will be prepared, which will provide the next step of integration, the system implementation of project and target programs' mechanisms.

Information: organizational procedure of program's development

The documents on actual tasks of modern educational model were sent to discuss in regions on May, 8.

On May, 27 the project of state program was sent for observations and suggestions to the interested departments. There were the answers from the Ministry of finance (July, 2), the Ministry of regional development (July, 8) and Ministry of economic development and trade (July, 25).

The remarks and notes were taken into consideration and the project was elaborated and sent to coordination on August, 6.

The Ministry of regional development submitted the program (August, 27).

The Ministry of economic development supported the program by the letter of September, 3.

There are some differences of opinion with the Ministry of finance (by the letter of August, 29). The key issues are:

1) the Ministry of finance considers the question of defining the program status is not settled. The sequence of forming state programs and their budget ensuring is not provided by the Budget Code.

The Ministry of education and science offered to approve the program by the Government's journal as a coordinating document for projects and programs in force and in work on the analogy of contents and plans for Prior directions of Russian educational system development (2004);

2) it is necessary to coordinate the program expenses with the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The Russian subjects' remarks and notes were received and taken into consideration. The program includes generalized expert values of the planned subjects' expenses;

3) the Ministry of finance considers the project activities are of declarative character and are not focused on the realization of the most important of them. There is no legal basis for many projects.

The legal basis for the program implementation is created: the key laws are accepted (on level higher education, on education and science integration, on compulsory secondary education and others). Further legislative perfection is carried out according to the established order (the draft law on federal universities and national research centers was introduced to the State Duma, the law concept of maintenance compensation in non-governmental infant schools was confirmed).

The program arrangements are aimed at the realization of the opportunities available in the new normative base. For example, the competitive support of innovative programs, integrating educational, scientific and production activity allows to realize the opportunities given by the law on the science and education integration;

Reconstruction and renovation of material and technical and informational base of educational institutions and modernization of teachers' certification system are aimed to achieve the guarantees and opportunities given by the law on the federal state educational standards;

Stimulation of making external educational ratings and of public and professional attestation and accreditation helps to fulfill the employers' right to take part in education management;

Introduction of credit-modular system and All-European appendix to a higher education diploma provides the realization of opportunities given by the law on level education;

Making the conditions on a senior school level for individual educational programs' realization, including elements of vocational education, allows to implement new opportunities given by the law on compulsory secondary education, etc.

4) The Ministry of finance reckons the program should exclude the experimental arrangements - including educational crediting.

The experiments help to perfect the mechanisms for measurements' realization, the necessity of the measurements themselves is not in doubt.

Besides, on September, 2 the program was discussed by the stakeholders and was approved at the Ministry of education and science board.

On September, 15 the elaborated project was sent to the Ministry of finance and to the Ministry of economic development. It is in the distributing documents.

Conclusions

I propose to discuss and to approve the program at the Government meeting as a basis for necessary standard acts in 2009-2010 and concept elaboration of FTPED in 2011-2015.

Transition from the national project to the state program is a necessary step to transfer the project logic from an approbation level of separate measures to a system level. The program is the first elaborated stage of the long-term concept of social and economical development and of Government's general activity directions concerning education. It is a key to their successful realization and to the achievement of the stated points.

I ask the presidium to support the suggested logic and the contents of the program.