Vladimir Putin held a videoconference meeting with winners of the 2020 Teacher of the Year national contes

I know that the competition was fierce and each of you is, without doubt, a worthy contender for such a distinguished title. You have proved it with your work at school with your students; you have successfully completed the difficult stages of the contest and earned the well-deserved acclaim of your colleagues and the teaching community.

I am certain that this recognition will motivate you to soar to new heights, continue your professional development, master new skills and be a role model for your colleagues and students. Innovation, the spirit of leadership and knowing that you are part of one big team are the cornerstones of the education system.

Teaching is noble, creative, demanding and, most definitely, very responsible work that has always been held in great esteem. I can certainly say that it has always been this way in our country. It is school teachers and mentors who can fundamentally affect their students and determine what kind of people they grow up to be. A teacher is able not only to spark interest in knowledge and bring children’s talents and abilities to light but to instil the core values that will be a tower of strength for a person in their adult life. This is the noble mission and the purpose of the teaching profession which, as I said, is simply impossible to disrespect.

Despite the continuous technological progress, technology cannot replace face-to-face interaction (we have noted this many times recently) and communicate the depth and complexity of learning and teaching which are, indeed, a collaboration between a student and a teacher. Mentorship plays the essential and pivotal role in education and upbringing and, I believe, it will do for many years, it always will. This belief was reinforced once again during the remote schooling because of the pandemic.

I would like to use this opportunity and to thank you and all teachers for your work during this difficult period. I realise what an extra load you have assumed. You have tried to do everything you could for your students. Today, I want to say that Russian teachers in major cities, in towns, and in rural schools, have shown their best side. They and their children have accomplished what will serve the country in the years to come.

It appears that not everything was perfect, and the going was not always smooth, but on the whole, our entire country and the national education system are passing the tests in a worthy manner at all levels. I would like to note that the equipment, technology and resources that the schools have received in the past few years have helped the schools work through the pandemic-related difficulties.

Of course, I know that much is still lacking, and we will probably discuss this today. But, believe me, it seemed impossible only a short time ago that all of our nearly 40,000 schools would have access to the internet. But being consistent, we have accomplished a lot.

But again, we have to accomplish even more, especially at this stage. In this context, the state’s goal and its priority remain the same. I want to assure you that we will continue to do everything possible to see that our schools and education system will be truly modern, so that they can access broadband internet, so that every child is able to unlock his or her talent, find his or her way in the world of knowledge, so that he or she finds it interesting to study, and so that teachers feel the support of the state and society.

In this connection, I would like to recall that, in the next three years, we will spend almost 225 billion rubles on supporting the 800,000 classroom teachers who account for 75 percent of all school teachers. When making this decision, we were guided by the tremendous role of teachers in bringing up and developing the younger generation of Russian citizens.

Of course, we will also develop systems and platforms that help educators improve their professionalism, expand their competences and use the best experience and practices. The Teacher of the Year contest aims to merge and popularise these practices. And, we now have the tradition where the city of the previous year’s winner hosts the competition finals.

You are now at the Hall of Triumph of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Panorama. Today’s date is symbolic. I believe that all this is very symbolic and important. Regardless of what way of life a person chooses, he or she must know and respect the history of his or her country, value the heroic feats of our predecessors for the sake of the younger generation.

In conclusion, I would like to once again congratulate you on succeeding in this contest. You have achieved this success because you are sincerely dedicated to your work and your calling. I hope that you will continue to do this in the future, as well.

I wish good health and prosperity to you and your families, and I also wish you new successes.