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No plans to replace traditional education with online classes, says Putin

The president stressed the importance of direct communication between teachers and students

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 3. /TASS/. There are no plans to replace traditional intramural format of learning by online classes, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"Obviously, the regular way of learning, a natural process of obtaining knowledge cannot be replaced by distance learning because direct communication, personal contacts between teachers and pupils or students is of major importance," he said during a videoconference with the working group on the constitutional amendments.

"We really have no plans to replace everything that goes on in the educational sphere by distance learning," he pledged.

He noted however that technical possibilities for and technologies of distance learning were developing rapidly. "It is impossible to curb technological progress. It is pointless and harmful to do so but we should not substitute one for the other," Putin emphasized. "We are not going to do that."

He also said he shared the view that distance learning should be under proper control and "general rules, fundamental and framework ones" were needed to develop the educational system.