Overview
- Deputy secretary Vladislav Grib told RIA Novosti that Russia is prepared to move to a 12-year basic school cycle and framed the final preschool year as a de facto zero grade.
- Grib argued the move could help retain teachers and align university entry with age 18 despite a decline in first-grade cohorts.
- Evgeny Malevanov of the State University of Education told TASS that a full transition would require 13–15 years across general education schools.
- Malevanov cautioned that changing the length of schooling now would be ill-timed because unified curricula, state textbooks and laboratory equipment upgrades are not yet complete.
- Separately, Grib declined to back a universal 9 a.m. school start and urged schools to set schedules locally in consultation with parents.