School districts have been established as part of the education management system in the Arctic parts of Yakutia under the Arctic Teacher project launched this year.

“There are 95 schools in the Arctic zone of Yakutia where over 10,000 children are taught by about 1,900 teachers. Several Arctic regions comprise one school district, in which education quality indicators are monitored, and teacher exchanges and regional Olympiads are held. Each district has one of Yakutia’s teacher training colleges assigned to it,” explained Mikhail Prisyazhny, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the region, noting that the use of school districts is also a widespread practice in Alaska.

According to experts, school districts help form a talent pool of teachers of various subjects and heads of educational institutions. Teaching teams are created in each district, which helps enhance the capabilities of the teaching personnel there.

“A teaching team includes experienced teachers who are also interested in doing research or project work, participants in the federal program Country Teacher and the Teacher of the Arctic program, as well as young, creatively minded teachers who show interest in addressing a specific problem, trailblazers,” Prisyazhny added.

Furthermore, teacher training classes and scholarships will be established to stimulate interest in this profession among schoolchildren. Teacher training classes or groups are created at teacher training colleges in Yakutia to provide targeted career counselling for students, and foster a lasting interest in the teaching profession. Such groups accept students in grades 9-11.

“There was a period when Russia had a career placement system, which included privileges and higher salaries for those working in northern regions to encourage highly qualified teachers to go to the Arctic. In recent years, this nationwide system has been inactive. Support measures have moved to the regional level. The Country Teacher program and targeted training of teachers still cannot fully compensate for the shortage of teachers in the Arctic,” Prysyazhny says.