Readiness of the general, secondary vocational, and higher education systems for the new 2025/26 academic year was discussed at a videoconference meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko. Representatives from all constituent entities of the Russian Federation participated in the event.
"Our President Vladimir Putin recently emphasized that the accessibility and quality of education are a key factor, the foundation for Russia's long-term successful development. The main instruments for implementing strategic goals in the educational sphere are the national projects 'Youth and Children' and 'Family'. They provide comprehensive mechanisms for implementing the instructions of the President and the Government on the ground. The inspection of educational institutions' readiness for the new academic year has been fully completed. All necessary conditions for comfortable learning have been created at 85 thousand educational institutions across the country," stated Dmitry Chernyshenko.
This includes approximately 32 thousand kindergartens, over 38 thousand schools, about 3.3 thousand colleges, over 1.2 thousand universities, around 11 thousand supplementary education organizations, and about 600 other educational institutions.
"This is a giant infrastructure – never before in our country's history have there been such large-scale investments in the education system. This academic year, more than 26.5 million schoolchildren and students will sit at their desks, including over 1.5 million first-graders," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
He added that educational infrastructure is an important part of the Education Development Strategy. By the end of 2025, it is planned to create 178 new facilities with over 80 thousand places in 39 regions and to renovate 580 facilities.
Pursuant to the instruction of President Vladimir Putin, the creation of a network of modern world-class campuses continues. By the beginning of autumn, 18 hotel buildings of the first phase, which are part of the IT campus "Neimark" in Nizhny Novgorod, as well as the academic building of the Novosibirsk State University campus, will open. Additionally, it is planned to commission 573 university facilities after major renovations before the start of the academic year, and to renovate another 251 facility by the end of the year.
Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the education system will see a number of innovations this year: new specialized classrooms for "Labor" and "Fundamentals of Security and Homeland Defense" will open for students, the academic load on schoolchildren will be reduced, students after their third year at pedagogical universities will be able to work as teachers in schools or colleges, and the preparation of unified state textbooks will continue.
"The admissions campaign for colleges and universities is concluding. We see a growing interest among schoolchildren in obtaining in-demand working professions. Applicants have submitted over 3.3 million applications – 890 thousand more than last year. Of these, 943 thousand are for the 'Professionalitet' programs. Regarding higher education, more than 1.5 million applicants have submitted over 4 million applications. In 2025, about 80% of applicants used the super-service 'University Admission Online' – a 10% increase compared to the previous year," reported Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that "Russia's education system is ready for the start of the academic year."
Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov reported on the preparation of schools, colleges, and kindergartens. He also elaborated on the readiness of the education system for the start of the academic year.
"On September 1, 43 new schools will open their doors for the first time in 28 regions, and a total of 1,677 schools and 1,688 kindergartens will have been commissioned since 2019. Furthermore, buildings are being returned to regional education systems after major renovations. Since the start of the program in 2022, 4,932 school buildings have been renovated, and we plan to open another 670 renovated schools by September 1, 2025. Also, pursuant to the instruction of the President of Russia, programs for the major renovation of kindergartens and colleges have been organized," said Sergey Kravtsov.
Separately, the head of the Russian Ministry of Education highlighted the leaders in infrastructure measures – the republics of Mordovia, Tatarstan, Ryazan Oblast, and the Chechen Republic.
Sergey Kravtsov reminded that on August 28-29, All-Russian drills on anti-terrorist security and practicing algorithms of action for all participants in educational relations on the ground in the event of terrorist threats will take place.
Among the tasks for the 2025/26 academic year, he listed the implementation of changes introduced by Order No. 704 of the Russian Ministry of Education. This includes continuing systematic work to reduce the academic load on students, introducing lesson planning, and standardizing the number of tests and assessments. The Minister of Education added that this year, over 40 thousand graduates of pedagogical universities received diplomas, and most of them had secured jobs in schools by the start of the academic year. Furthermore, changes to the education law have come into force, allowing individuals to work as teachers in schools or colleges after their third year of university.
The head of the Ministry of Education emphasized that work has been structured to create unified state textbooks. Currently, unified textbooks on history for grades 5-11 have been prepared, and the delivery of textbooks to educational organizations continues in the regions. It is planned that from September 1, 2026, all schools will operate using unified state textbooks on history and social studies.