Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: We have several events this year lined up to mark the Year of the Teacher. Could you fill me in on your plans in this respect?

Second, I have signed two government resolutions on the Southern and Siberian Federal Universities. I would like to discuss with you how life at these universities will change as a result. And in general how will the Ministry go about introducing the new forms of administration?

Andrei Fursenko: With your permission, I'll start with the Year of the Teacher. We are following the decisions of the first meeting of the Organising Committee which you chaired recently. As you recall, it made many changes to the plan of activities. We were instructed to rework the plan and submit it to the government, which we have done.

I would like to single out three things. First, the issue of attestation of teachers. It was discussed at the Organising Committee meeting. You will remember that the issue was raised by the trade unions. We have taken into account the proposals and the fears expressed by the trade unions lest attestation lead to some teachers being cut off from their work.

But we agreed that attestation would go ahead and that teachers should be able to fulfill their profession. If for whatever reason a teacher fails to pass the attestation, it does not necessarily mean resignation. He will have an opportunity to work on his qualification and try again.

Vladimir Putin: Proper conditions should be created for upgrading and for the repeat attestation.

Andrei Fursesnko: We have made this the focus of our effort, and we have prepared a document detailing the process for all the teachers who are really willing to upgrade their qualifications.

Vladimir Putin: Another question we discussed was raising the social status of primary school teachers.

Andrei Fursenko: Yes, we have prepared the relevant documents. They are currently getting the approvals from other agencies. Work load is one issue. We are coordinating it with the Culture Ministry because some special issues are involved.

But the relevant documents have been prepared. We hope to be able to submit these documents to the government soon, once the approvals from our colleagues are obtained, so the government can approve the relevant changes and they can be introduced.

Vladimir Putin: They are about enhancing the status and raising salaries.

Andrei Fursenko: Both about enhancing the status and de facto about raising the salaries. Work rates are changing and that would automatically increase salaries somewhat.

Vladimir Putin: OK. Then we can move on to the second question, the universities.

Andrei Fursenko: These are the first two federal universities that will be granted the status of autonomous institutions. It took a lot of preparation. We discussed what valuable property to transfer to the universities.

As of today these two universities have been granted autonomy above all because they have prepared themselves properly: the administrative system, the setting of government targets, for these universities. In short, they are prepared.

This is a very important pilot project.

Vladimir Putin: Let us recall how these institutions will benefit from these changes.

Andrei Fursenko: Perhaps the most important thing from the point of view of opportunities for the universities is that they will be financed not according to a rigid cost estimate, but in the form of subsidies. Objectives are determined and the amount of subsidies is matched against these objectives.

Simultaneously, they will implement development programmes. They have been doing this all along because these are the first two federal universities, but now the practice has been legitimised. They have been given more freedom and much greater responsibility.

Vladimir Putin: What do they stand to gain from this freedom?

Andrei Fursenko: Freedom, for example, not to work under Federal Law 94. That is very important for universities and other education institutions because these tenders often involve a lot of formalities that prevent them from reacting promptly to new challenges and from pursuing innovation.

Vladimir Putin: Apparently one of the main tasks is to minimise expenditure on some things...

Andrei Fursenko: To redistribute...

Vladimir Putin: Yes, and to increase spending on other things, including salaries, for example.

Andrei Fursenko: Yes, to raise salaries, to finance priority research programmes and to redeploy personnel. In other words, they are given a lot more leeway. Also very importantly, the Supervisory Board, which plays an important role in running autonomous institutions, will acquire legal status.

Government officials do not cope. I don't want to cast a slur on ministry officials. But the Supervisory Board consists of businessmen, scientists and NGO representatives. It is the key body in an autonomous institution. We feel it can be instrumental in realising the potential of the region, of the business community in the region which is interested in the development of the university.

Vladimir Putin: And we have agreed that these changes will be introduced not in a revolutionary, but in an evolutionary way, without forcing the new format on anyone but by creating incentives for them.

Andrei Fursenko: I can tell you that there is already a waiting list. The law says federal universities should become autonomous if they are prepared for such status. But today, the national research universities, those that have won the tender, more than half of them in fact, claim to become autonomous precisely because they believe it gives them more freedom and greater opportunity. They seek this status.

Now that we have some experience (the resolution you signed sets a certain framework), we believe things will move much faster.

Vladimir Putin: One more question. Science in higher education institutions was the subject of a heated debate last year. The relevant decisions have been taken. They must now be put into practice. How is this work going?

Andrei Fursenko: We estimate that the first 200 or so small enterprises have been organised. I can name the institutions and cities which are in the forefront: Tomsk, Cheboksary where such enterprises were launched recently. I would say that these regions are more active than Moscow.

Vladimir Putin: Very good.

Andrei Fursenko: St Petersburg. I think it is very important that it has higher education institutions that have launched...

Vladimir Putin: Small high-tech enterprises.

Andrei Fursenko: Small high-tech enterprises. About 200 enterprises have been created under the new law; they have been registered and are already functioning. We think this is only the beginning.

Vladimir Putin: Okay.