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The meeting, held via videoconference, was also attended by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Presidential Aide Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Anna Kuznetsova.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, good afternoon.

You are aware that later today, I will attend a meeting with my colleagues at the State Council Presidium, themed “Russian regions’ goals concerning general education.”

But before speaking with the heads of the regions and representatives of relevant agencies and ministries, I really wanted to listen to you, and I am happy to talk to teachers, school graduates, and parents of students just before the start of the new school year. I sincerely wish you all the best on this exciting occasion.

We all know that school education, its quality and accessibility are highly important for our entire society and for almost every family.

We all went to school, completed our studies there, chose our own path in life. But time flies very quickly; just a few years, and people who have only recently gone to school or college are taking their children to first grade. And the family – parents, grandmothers and grandfathers – again go through the school path with their children.

I am aware that you have proposals for improving secondary education. I am also sure that you are concerned about child guidance at school, because these processes are interconnected and inseparable. Your ideas about what a modern school should be like – its infrastructure, equipment, the level of education, extracurricular activities, such as arts and sports – are also important.

The students’ and their parents’ involvement are as important as the teacher's efforts because only doing things together can create a school that keeps children interested and is attractive due to its capabilities in revealing their talents and preparing them for adult life.

As I said, we will discuss all these matters at the State Council Presidium today. But first, I would like to listen to the people who work directly in the field, as they say, or – I know we also have schoolchildren here today – to listen to them too, to get the information and experience from you, and maybe proposals that could change school for the better.

I am very grateful to you for being here today, and I expect that what we discuss now – not for long, half an hour or an hour – we will use during the discussion with our colleagues at the State Council Presidium.

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