Overview
- Civic Chamber deputy secretary Vladislav Grib said the country is ready to move from 11 to 12 years of general schooling and framed the discussion as the start of a dialogue.
- Grib argued a longer program could help retain teachers and align university entry at age 18, noting a de‑facto preparatory “zero year” in preschools in many large cities.
- Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov stated that any change to schooling length would follow deep analysis and broad public discussion, stressing the system’s sensitivity to reforms.
- Education specialist Evgeny Malevanov cautioned that a full transition would likely take 13–15 years and said shifts are impractical before unified curricula, state textbooks and lab equipment upgrades are completed.
- The Civic Chamber did not back a blanket 9 a.m. school start, recommending that individual schools decide after consulting parents and relevant specialists.