The head of the Moscow Department of Education has changed
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On Wednesday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin changed the head of the Department of Education and Science (DONM), one of the most active city structures. Alexander Molotkov reportedly left this post “on his own initiative,” and was replaced by Irina Kaklyugina, now the former vice-governor of the Moscow region. The press service of the mayor’s office does not comment on the reasons for the personnel changes, but Sergei Sobyanin recently presented an updated strategy for the development of capital education. At the same time, the Moscow City Duma does not expect fundamental changes in the city’s educational policy. The teachers’ union hopes that under the new leadership, the capital’s education will maintain “a difference for the better” from the federal one.
On Wednesday, the Moscow Department of Education and Science unexpectedly changed its head. The capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, appointed Irina Kaklyugina, the former vice-governor of the Moscow region for social issues, to this position. The head of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, announced her transfer to a new position on April 8. At a meeting with the regional government, he said that Ms. Kaklyugina was “going to work in Moscow.” “She was asked to head the education department. This is very interesting and an honor. It’s always nice when team members are recognized,” said Mr. Vorobiev.
The former head of the DONM, Alexander Molotkov, as follows from decree mayor, left his position “on his own initiative.” The press service of the mayor’s office refrained from making other comments about the personnel changes. We would like to remind you that Mr. Molotkov headed the DonM in July 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. During his work, the capital’s education actively developed digital services. Thus, the Moscow Electronic School (MES) project appeared as a replacement for paper diaries and class magazines back in 2016, but it was under Alexander Molotkov that the platform was supplemented with services for online lessons and digital textbooks. Moreover, in 2022, the Russian government decided to use the IES as the basis for the creation of the federal state information system “My School”.
Also in 2022, a pilot project for preparing eleventh-graders for the Unified State Exam was launched in the capital’s schools.
Schoolchildren completed their study of the general education program by February, and the second half of the senior year was entirely devoted to upcoming exams. As a result, Moscow graduates increased their average Unified State Exam scores in most subjects.
Mr. Molotkov also continued the landmark initiatives of his predecessor Isaac Kalina: uniting multi-level educational organizations into school complexes, creating specialized classes in high schools, increasing the average salary of Moscow teachers.
“Alexander Molotkov had a fairly consistent policy. He actually made one demand for schools – good results in exams and olympiads,” Vsevolod Lukhovitsky, a member of the council of the Teacher trade union, told Kommersant. “He didn’t put too much pressure on all sorts of formalities: for example, the situation with the All-Russian testing work in the capital was much calmer than in the regions. In general, it was a fairly calm time – under Molotkov.” Mr. Lukhovitsky admitted that the replacement of the head of the department came as a surprise to him and his fellow teachers. Discussing the tasks that will confront Irina Kaklyugina, the trade unionist emphasized: “Moscow education still exists as in many ways different from Russian – different for the better. I would like it to stay that way.”
However, the chairman of the Moscow City Duma Commission on Education, Honored Teacher of Russia Evgeniy Bunimovich, noted in a conversation with Kommersant that the heads of the capital’s departments today are more likely to be executors, rather than initiators of change.
“Strategic decisions in the social sphere are made by Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova. Therefore, there is no point in expecting a change in educational policy with the arrival of the new head of the ONM,” believes Mr. Bunimovich.
Recalling the activities of Alexander Molotkov, the deputy noted that it was under him that Moscow schools “coped at a good level with the forced transition to remote learning” during the coronavirus pandemic. “The development of digital services, the specialization of high school education, a pilot project to prepare eleventh-graders for the Unified State Exam—all of this can be noted as successful changes,” he believes. Mr. Bunimovich listed the disadvantages as “the unification of the educational process and the increased bureaucratic burden on teachers,” but added that this is characteristic of all Russian education.
Separately, the Moscow City Duma deputy noted that the reconstruction of Moscow schools under Mr. Molotov was carried out insufficiently, although “there is an obvious need.” “It is precisely this project that the new head of the DNM will most likely have to deal with especially actively,” he concluded.
Recently, it was with a large-scale program for the reconstruction of Moscow schools that Sergei Sobyanin began to talk about the strategy for the development of capital education by 2030. So, on April 3, he promised that in 2025, 50 schools in the city would be updated, and then up to 100 schools annually.
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