Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on education in the context of a pandemic. It was held on May 21 via videoconference. The Head of State addressed schoolchildren and students, as well as their parents and teachers. He thanked them for their patience and mutual help. "I would like to say the kindest words to high school students, students who not only studied, but also took an active part in volunteer, volunteer actions, helped neighbors, elderly people," Vladimir Vladimirovich added.

The President noted that during the distance learning regime, Russia has gained a unique experience, which in the future will serve to improve the quality and accessibility of education, the development of advanced, distance learning technologies. One of the key measures to achieve this goal will be connecting schools to high-speed Internet.

To the worries of some citizens that from now on Russian education will be completely transferred to an electronic format, Vladimir Vladimirovich replied: "I consider all the rumors and stuffing that distance education will completely replace and displace full-time education, that traditional schools and universities will be closed, as an outright provocation."

Vladimir Putin stressed that new measures to support teachers have already been developed and implemented, which will not only return to the usual way of teaching, but also preserve and multiply the skills of remote interaction with students in case the world has to go through similar shocks again. So, from the beginning of the new academic year, special federal surcharges in the amount of 5 thousand rubles per month will be established in Russian schools for classroom teachers who have a special responsibility for raising children. The President also said that he had sent amendments to the law "On Education" to the State Duma. Their meaning is to strengthen and emphasize the educational component of the domestic educational system.

Then Vladimir Vladimirovich turned to the topic of control of school and university knowledge. The President said that the Unified State Exam this year will be held throughout the country, starting on June 29. At the same time, schools will help graduates prepare for exams remotely. The Head of State separately noted that only those graduates who are going to enter universities this year will take the Unified State Exam. At the same time, certificates must be issued to all graduates regardless of participation in the Unified State Exam. Such a decision is an exception and is temporary.

At the meeting, it was announced that the enrollment of applicants who passed the Unified State Exam, as planned, will take place in the last month of summer. The President also drew the attention of Russians to the fact that the Ministry of Defense will postpone conscription of school graduates in 2020. Vladimir Putin expects that studies for all first-year students of the country, taking into account the epidemiological situation, will begin on September 1.

Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia V.N. Falkov made a report at the meeting. Valery Nikolaevich outlined the key results of the adaptation of the higher education system to work in conditions of forced restrictions and spoke about the changes that will soon affect the system of passing the Unified State Exam and the procedure for conducting the admission campaign in universities. The head of the Ministry noted that the transition to the remote format of work was uncontested, and in most educational institutions it was generally successful. The Minister stressed that the electronic format of education cannot be compared with the traditional one, and therefore it is impossible to offer it as a full-fledged alternative.