During the meeting, attended by representatives from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science, Olga Golodets set the objective to substantially improve the quality of extracurricular education for schoolchildren. To do so the relevant ministries must draw up recommended programmes and standards for the main disciplines of extracurricular education and also draft the necessary amendments to the legislation.
"Educational courses must have understandable results. Understandable to everybody – parents and teachers. For example, a child must learn the basic swimming strokes in three months or master a particular musical instrument within a certain time," Golodets said. She said that the creative principles of extracurricular education should not be restricted. The task of the state is to formulate the minimum necessary requirements.
The Deputy Prime Minister instructed the relevant ministries to prepare proposals for the establishment of a common interactive Internet portal where parents and children can obtain all the necessary information on extracurricular education programmes. "Our goal is to get up to 75% of school pupils involved in extracurricular activities," Golodets said.