1. Bribery and red tape

2. Final exams (test-oriented educational system)

1. Abolish the Unified State Exam:

• it doesn’t check the knowledge of the subject, it checks the knowledge of the rules
• it is a main source of earning money for bribers from Ministry of Education

3. Not enough encouragement to enter the job:

• low salaries

• the job is considered to be a non-prestigious one (teachers are not respected much)

4. No one controls the level of education

5. Low grants for successful students and teachers

2. Rising the salary for teachers and increasing the level of motivation:

• salary should be decent and it should depend on the quality of work (students’ academic success)

• system of evaluation of this success should be adequate and eliminate the opportunity to falsify results

• establish small privileges for teachers (discounts in book shops, museums)

• provide teachers with free tickets to a resort or a sanatorium to help them restore and maintain their health

• exchange programs for teachers (after passing special exams)

6. Bad organization of schools (low quality of textbooks; the equipment and teaching methods are out-of-date)

3. Organize the national curriculum:

• in the first nine years of school a student should gain the basic knowledge of all the subjects, which would be established by the new national curriculum (provide with new textbooks, give some consultations to teachers), students should take exit exams at the end of the 9th grade

• 10th and 11th grades should be devoted to the subjects which the students choose themselves

Additional suggestions:

4. Improve the situation in remote areas (lack of educational facilities):

• restore school buildings

• develop the system of public transport (for students who live far away from their schools)

• free internet access to the national curriculum, list of recommended literature, expanded information on a topic

• attract young talented and motivated teachers (perks, higher salaries, free accommodation)

5. Establish entrance exams for universities and official ranking system:

• entrance exams should be established in all the universities and institutions of higher education

• there should be a unified ranking system for these exams

6. Change the system of application to the universities:

• the second semester of 11th grade: students should take the entrance exams at the universities they are applying for (and which they have a real chance to get in)

• as a result, students can have a good rest during their summer break and recharge their batteries for the university

• during the 8th-9th grades there should be some consultations to help students understand what they are good at