A. THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN RUSSIA

The system of education in Russia includes:

· Nursery education;

· Primary education;

· Secondary education;

· Further and higher education.

Secondary education is compulsory in our country. All children begin school at the age of six or seven and study at school until they have completed 9 years of schooling. After that they may continue their secondary education at different kinds of schools. Many pupils attend senior forms of a general 11-year school; others enter a trade school or go to work and study at evening schools.

Besides regular general schools there are other types of secondary schools in Russia. They have different curricula depending on the type of school. In some of them two or more foreign languages are taught, in others much attention is given to the humanities or the natural and exact sciences. There are also specialized Art, Music, Ballet and Sport schools for gifted children and special schools for handicapped children. Among the new types of schools are Gymnasia and Lyceums. In some of them the education must be paid for. Private schools were also established in our country. There are technical and vocational secondary schools called colleges.

As for pre-school institutions we have nurseries for children under 3 and kindergartens for children under 3 to 6.

In the first three years of schooling most of the time is devoted to reading, writing and mathematics. In the senior forms the required subjects taught in all schools are Mathematics, Russian, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, History, Biology, Foreign Languages, Physical Training, Drawing, Ethics and Psychology of Family Life, Principles of Computer Science.

Usually pupils take examinations at the end of the 9-th and 11-th forms. But in some schools they are to take exams every academic year.

There are different kinds of higher educational institutions in our country: universities, politechnical institutes, specialized institutes and academies. They accept everybody who has finished a secondary school and passed the entrance examinations successfully.

Teachers are trained at teachers’ training institutes and universities. There are specialized pedagogical colleges which prepare educators for pre-schools institutions.

There are more than 10 higher educational institutions in Volgograd. The most popular of them are Volgograd State University, Volgograd State Agricultural Academy, Volgograd State Pedagogical University, Technical University, Medical Academy, State Service Academy, Law Academy and others.

Vocabulary:

voluntary - добровольное

attend - посещать

self-governing - самоуправляемый

funding - финансирование

funding councils - советы по финансированию

to set up - основывать

polytechnics - политехнические институты

extension techniques - технологии дистанционного образования

to reflect - отражать

decade - десятилетие

state grants - государственные гарантии

parents income - доход родителей

student loan - студенческий заем