The head of the Ministry of Education of Russia, Sergei Kravtsov, said that from the next academic year, silver medals will return to Russian schools.
"There will be good news for parents and schoolchildren, we will return silver medals from the next school year," Kravtsov said at a press conference. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.
Recall that until 2014 in Russia, distinguished schoolchildren were awarded gold and silver medals at the federal level. To receive a gold medal, it was required to have an "excellent" grade in all subjects (we are talking about semi-annual, annual and final marks). "Silver" was provided for those who have no more than two "good" ratings.
Since 2009, the presence of a gold medal has ceased to provide benefits for admission to universities. The wording of the law "On Education", which came into force in September 2013, did not include the practice of awarding gold and silver medals. At the same time, a number of Russian regions continued to award silver medals at the regional level.
- Medal "For Special Achievements in Teaching"
- © Wikimedia
Meanwhile, in 2014, a single federal medal "For Special Achievements in Teaching" appeared in Russia. To obtain it, it was necessary to have the final marks "excellent" in all academic subjects, as well as to get one of the achievements, in particular, to pass the Unified State Exam (USE) in the Russian language and mathematics of the profile level and score at least 70 points for each, or score 70 points for the exam in the Russian language and get five points in mathematics of the basic level.
Other options for obtaining the achievement necessary for the medal are passing the State Final Exam (GVE) with a score of five points in compulsory academic subjects, or passing the Unified State Exam and GVE with receiving five points for the Unified State Exam in mathematics of the basic level, five points for the GVE in the compulsory academic subject and at least 70 points in the compulsory subject in the form of the Unified State Exam.
In the Federation Council, the idea of returning to the practice of issuing silver medals was called correct and timely. This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova.
"I myself am a pupil of the Soviet school, and in our time there were gold and silver medals. And, of course, this gave certain advantages for admission, additional bonuses. Therefore, I see this idea as correct and timely," the senator said.
She also noted that if a student has received appropriate grades for many years, participated in events and was rewarded with a medal, this is "a very correct and understandable story."
"I am sure that the pedagogical and parent community, as well as the children themselves, will meet this news with a positive attitude," Gumerova concluded.
In turn, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, Alexander Mazhuga, commenting on the prospect of returning silver medals, said that this is a correct and important initiative.
"In fact, it's even a bit of a shame that it was removed at some point. Silver medals, gold medals, which are issued to school students, are an incentive and a reason for pride," the parliamentarian emphasized.