Funeral Home of Science
Professor of KFU compared the Ministry of Education and Science with a funeral home, and universities – with hospices
Natalia Vasilyeva, "Evening Kazan"
Education officials are destroying fundamental science and university education, and the teaching staff are being deprived of their last academic freedoms, turning them into serfs," Nail Fatkullin, a 64-year–old professor at the Institute of Physics of KFU, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan, made such a loud statement. The scientist sent an appeal to his colleagues working at Kazan University and other leading Russian universities, urging them to initiate a genuine reform of higher education in Russia, at least to start a public discussion on this topic. He told about what Fatkullin himself offers in an interview with Vechernaya Kazan.
– Nail Fidayevich, what prompted you to write an open appeal in which you compare the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, or, as it is now called, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, with a funeral home?
– I believe that the Ministry of Education poisons university life with bureaucratization, which has reached grotesquely monstrous proportions today. Scientific life in the walls of universities is paralyzed. I see how, under the ringing of loudly declared cosmisms, the essence of which boils down to promises of miracles in the near future, the de-intellectualization of the country is taking place. Therefore, is it so surprising that economic growth has stopped in Russia and the number of man-made accidents is increasing? In my opinion, this is the result of a policy pursued over many years.
– You said "de-intellectualization of the country"...
– Its first sign is the displacement of fundamental science and education from all spheres of university life. Students have reduced the number of hours for studying fundamental subjects by one and a half times, filling the time with new-fangled disciplines. And if ten years ago a strong Kazan physics student could easily enroll in graduate school in the West, and a PhD candidate could find a postdoc position, now it is difficult for our students to withstand competition there.
Huge financial resources allocated from the budget for the development of higher education and science are spent on related things, not on the main thing. Mainly technical aspects related to infrastructure are financed: accelerated purchase of expensive equipment, reconstruction/construction of new buildings, creation of all kinds of Skolkovo, innopolis and other "growth points".
In addition, a significant part of the finances was spent on pseudo-scientific and pseudo-pedagogical directions, for example, on countless alterations of curricula, official requirements for which change strangely every year. Instead of doing science and real thinking through the subjects taught, the teacher must endlessly compose various UMCS, FOS, RPD, which are multi-page, useless waste paper. Moreover, according to the contract, he must issue a certain number of scientific articles per year strictly on schedule and he must be quoted at least a certain number of times. This is wildness! There are no such standards anywhere in the world. A scientific article is a creative matter. And what does all this commitment lead to? University staff simply unite and publish collective articles – it's cheaper this way.
To justify its importance and necessity, the management apparatus regularly spews out various initiatives, fateful initiatives, inspections, threatens with certification and dismissals... It is enough to recall the humiliating testing procedure of the teaching staff arranged for us at KFU in order to "conduct an independent assessment of the quality of education" (recall Nail Fatkullin called on colleagues to boycott the "professorial USE", some teachers refused to participate in the "humiliating show". – "VK").
– In your address you also talk about the personnel disaster at universities. What is it?
– Today, the vast majority of university professors working at the world level are people of retirement age. Our universities are like hospices.
The amount of pensions for our professors is 12-16 thousand rubles. Labor contracts with them are concluded for exactly one year. Refusal of the contract is actually a doom to a poor and miserable old age. It is already difficult for them to leave and find a job at Western universities or laboratories due to their age and health. The result is that people become completely dependent on the university administration. The teacher becomes a modern kind of serf, a slave. By blackmailing dismissals, the administration is capable of carrying out any madness with their hands. Talented young people from among students or postgraduates perfectly see and understand the real situation of their teachers. And, of course, she has a question: "Do I want such a "wonderful future" for myself? Why should I stay here? While I am young, full of energy and not afraid of competition at the global level, maybe I should leave Russia at the first opportunity?" The process of disintegration thus accelerates itself.
– Do you suggest universities to conclude long-term contracts with teachers?
– At least for five years, and preferably indefinite. In addition, I propose to review the classroom workload of the teaching staff. In all Western universities, depending on the total amount and methods of financing (private or public), the classroom load of professors (in Western universities, all full-time teachers are considered professors, either associate professor or full professor) varies between 4-10 academic hours per week, that is, 2-5 classroom classes of 90 minutes per week. This is somewhere in the range of 110-300 academic hours per year. Moreover, such a classroom load is considered huge in the West. As a rule, it is held by professors who are practically not engaged in scientific work, whose activities are mainly limited to teaching students. There is nothing accidental about this. Only in such conditions is high-quality and in-depth training in complex disciplines and full-fledged scientific activity possible. Our workload for teachers is two or three times higher, with the exception of MSU and, possibly, a few more elite universities.
– The purpose of your appeal to the university community?
– I urge my colleagues to have an open discussion. No matter what the Ministry of Education and its subordinate structures say, no real reform of higher education has been carried out in Russia. The social significance of initiatives and instructions constantly emanating from the department, the competence of their authors have never been discussed by the scientific and pedagogical community.
– Do you think your colleagues will support you?
– I don't know. It's hard to go against the system.
What does KFU Professor Nail Fatkullin offer for the development of university education and science?
1. The academic classroom load should be within 4-10 academic hours (two to five 90-minute classroom sessions) per week.
2. The pension of teachers who have reached retirement age, as in Western universities, should be about 80% of their previous rate. At the same time, the right of retired professors to read training courses, conduct research, and remain a consultant remains (if desired), but the right to be a leader is lost.
3. The student/teacher ratio, and, accordingly, the funding of universities should be carried out in accordance with the number of students entering the first year. It should not depend on the further possible dropout of the underachievers.
4. Instead of the currently existing institutes of advanced training and internships, which are profanation, provide for paid creative vacations of 3-5 months every 5 years. The professor should be able to independently choose the form and place of professional development or self-education.
5. To reduce the powers of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to the maximum, leaving general advisory functions for it.
6. To reduce the administrative apparatus of universities to the maximum, strengthening the role of academic councils. In particular, the position of rectors should be regularly re-elected, and the salaries of rectors and vice-rectors and other university authorities should not exceed 1.5-2 times the average salaries of professors.
7. To grant academic councils of universities the right to independently form and approve curricula.
UPD. Nail Fatkullin, a professor at the Institute of Physics of Kazan Federal University, winner of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan, posted a petition on the Internet in which he states that the policy pursued by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation is detrimental to universities and leads to the de-intellectualization of the country.
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