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Putin urges regional leaders to raise teachers’ salaries

"It is unacceptable when some regions start pumping up teachers’ salaries at the end of a year, in order to report good statistics, and then cut them down,” the president said...

NOVO OGAREVO, November 7 (Itar-Tass) — President Vladimir Putin urged regional leaders to raise teachers’ salaries.

At a meeting on the modernisation of general education in regions, held on Wednesday, November 7, Putin noted that “alarming signals have been coming from some regions” instead of continued growth we see a decrease in the average salary of teachers there”.

“The biggest risks in implementing the set tasks have been registered in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Vologda, Chelyabinsk and Magadan Regions,” the head of state said.

“Salary dynamics has its specifics in the field of education: it cannot be raised every month, bonuses are traditionally paid at the end of the year, holiday allowances at the beginning of summer, and the salary is always slightly smaller in July and August for objective reasons,” Putin said.

He stressed that the average salary in the first three quarters of this year should exceed the level of the last quarter of 2011.

“But I want to stress right away: it is unacceptable when some regions start pumping up teachers’ salaries at the end of a year, in order to report good statistics, and then cut them down by as much when a new year begins,” the president said.

“This not only humiliates people but also discredits the authorities,” he added.

“We promised that the average salary of the teacher would grow together with the average salary in the economy, and we must keep our promise,” Putin said.

Salaries of teachers in Russia will be raised to the average salary in the respective region before the end of the year, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said earlier.

At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in September, she admitted that teachers’ salaries have not been raised in all regions yet. Golodets named specifically Vologda, Chelyabinsk and Smolensk regions, Chechnya, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Dagestan and Ingushetia among those that had failed to do so.

Ten regions have raised teachers’ salaries. These include Moscow, Sverdlovsk, Belgorod and Kaliningrad regions, and Tyva.

“I am confident that we will solve this task,” Medvedev said and advised regions to identify their budget priorities correctly.