Pupils in Khabarovsk region to reduce their summer break interval by half.
Russian Schools Commence Summer Holidays as Per Government Guidelines
Following the recommendations by the Russian Ministry of Education, schools in the country have started sending students on their summer break. Some schools have released their pupils earlier, while others are doing so today with graduation ceremonies. The traditional summer vacation is set to conclude on August 31, according to the "Khabarovsk Krai Today" news agency.
A proposal in Russia to decrease the duration of the summer break garnered attention, with arguments focusing on the "summer learning loss" effect and increased safety. Long periods without academic engagement result in students losing a significant portion of the knowledge they gained during the academic year. This continuous review process at the start of the new school year can be both exhausting and counterproductive for students and teachers alike.
Advocates of this reform argue that shortening the summer break would help alleviate this problem by reducing the learning loss, thus streamlining the education process. A comparison with other countries demonstrates that Russian students have the longest school break, lasting around 20 weeks annually, while German students have an 8-week break, and Chinese students have a 10-week break. Even in France and Spain, where summers are hotter, students typically enjoy a 12-week break.
The second argument revolves around child safety. It is observed that unsupervised children during the summer have a higher incidence of injuries and accidents. Some data indicate that the number of children's injuries rises by 30% compared to the academic term. Shortening the summer break and organizing supervised activities for students, it is argued, may help curb this trend.
However, current sources suggest that there is no recent discussion within the Russian education system about implementing this initiative or its potential advantages and challenges. The available sources primarily address military, security, and social welfare issues related to the war in Ukraine and force generation in Russia, rather than educational reforms.
- The proposal to shorten the summer break in Russia, focusing on addressing the 'summer learning loss' effect and increasing safety, has gained attention within the education-and-self-development sphere.
- If implemented, this reform could potentially align Russia's summer break duration more closely with other countries such as Germany and France, and help mitigate the general-news issue of a higher incidence of injuries and accidents among unsupervised children during the extended summer vacation.
