The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health will figure out how schools teach first aid

The first aid curriculum may change in Russian schools. The President of the Russian Federation instructed the heads of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to analyze how this skill is taught now, and by July 1 to decide whether its expansion is required. Experts interviewed by Kommersant believe that the main problem here is insufficient material and technical support for schools. They note that anatomical mannequins are outdated, and bandages often have to be purchased at the expense of the teachers themselves.

Published on Friday list of presidential instructions on socio-economic issues. Among other things, it states that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health must assess “the sufficiency of studying issues related to the provision of first aid as part of the development of basic general education programs and, if necessary, make changes to federal educational programs.” The heads of departments have been appointed responsible for the implementation of the order, the deadline is July 1.

The head of the city methodological association of life safety teachers of Chelyabinsk, first aid instructor Vladimir Baklunin, believes that the regulatory framework and methodological materials on the topic “First Aid” have been developed at a high level. But “it is important to understand that literally a couple of hours a year are devoted to this topic in the curriculum,” the expert admits. In addition, the material and technical base is seriously lagging behind. “Mannequins “Gosha” and “Volodya” (used to practice first aid skills.— “Kommersant”) have long been outdated and do not meet the training requirements,” says Mr. Baklunin. “They are incorrect from the point of view of anatomy, they are inconvenient to work with, and the price tag on them is sometimes higher than on foreign analogues, which have much fewer disadvantages.”

And training in the sections “Wounds of various areas of the body” is often carried out orally or “with pictures,” the expert complains, because teachers have to buy bandages at their own expense.

“The problems of the subject have long been spelled out in the Concept of teaching the subject of life safety in 2018, but the solution to these problems still remains a rhetorical question,” concludes Mr. Baklunin. “Many organizations came to the aid of schools in first aid training and even organized classes, Master -classes, competitions. But a one-time event is often more advertising for these very organizations than real training, and all this is ultimately ineffective.”

Expert of the “People’s Front” direction. Analytics” Dmitry Tsvich believes that knowledge about first aid in school is of great practical importance.

“Children are more mobile and active, which means they have a higher risk of getting into a situation where first aid is needed,” he is sure. “But according to the Popular Front, not all schools yet have medical rooms.” He refers to the results of a survey that the movement conducted in December 2023 – January 2024. Then the Popular Front found out the opinions of 20,650 teachers and 1,985 principals from 85 regions. 14% of teachers and 25% of principals said that their schools do not have medical rooms.

“Schoolchildren, as a rule, begin to master first aid skills in the 8th grade, and this is quite late,” points out Anton Muromtsev, curator of scientific projects at the Sirius federal educational center. “Children can often find themselves in a situation where a classmate becomes ill . In this case, they should have a clear plan of action in their heads.” He believes that teachers also need to be trained in first aid, since at a critical moment there may be no medical staff at the school. Note that since 2017, all teachers must learn the basics of first aid. But Vladimir Baklunin says that “such courses can be taken in a distance format” and many teachers “do not want to study, citing being busy.”

The Ministry of Education has not yet answered Kommersant’s questions about the reasons for this instruction. The Ministry of Health only said that “this issue is being studied in accordance with the instructions of the president with the participation of the expert community.”

Polina Yachmennikova