Published on: 2026-10-08
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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On October 8, Russia traditionally celebrates the Day of Additional Education Workers. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov expressed their gratitude to the leaders of clubs and sections, teachers of creative studios, coaches of sports clubs, educational organizers, and methodologists for their work.
“Supplementary education helps children and adolescents try themselves in different fields, reveal their abilities, and find an activity that will become their passion, and possibly their future profession. More than 18 million kids attend clubs and sections today. Behind every achievement of a young engineer, researcher, athlete, or journalist stands an educator who noticed the talent in time and helped to believe in their abilities. More than 300 thousand specialists work in the supplementary education system. Within the framework of the national project ‘Youth and Children,’ we will continue to create opportunities for self-realization,” stated Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov noted that the system of supplementary education is being improved taking into account the interests of children and the needs of families.
“Every child aged 5 to 18 today can choose an area of interest, acquire new knowledge and skills, and reveal their abilities. To achieve this, we are developing the content of supplementary education, infrastructure, and creating modern spaces for activities. Clubs and sections are introducing programs related to information technology, robotics, media, and other in-demand fields. We pay great attention to developing human resources potential. This autumn, the final of the All-Russian professional skills competition ‘I Give My Heart to Children – 2026’ was completed. The experience and ideas of supplementary education teachers from various regions of the country will be thoroughly studied and scaled up,” said Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov.
Today, nearly 37 thousand school theaters operate in Russia, more than 3.2 thousand exemplary children’s groups, over 12.2 thousand school choir groups, more than 17.3 thousand school media centers, and about 37.6 thousand school and 2.5 thousand student sports clubs.
The most in-demand areas of additional education remain socio-humanitarian, physical culture and sports, and artistic.
Positive dynamics are also observed in technical programs: over 2 years, their coverage has increased from 2.55 million children to 3.59 million, and in natural science programs – from 2.63 million to 3.55 million. The most significant growth is noted in the tourism and local history direction: from 964.1 thousand children to 1.57 million, which amounted to 62.6%.
The coverage of children by social and humanitarian programs is 7.81 million. The number of children attending physical culture and sports sections is 6.38 million, and those in art clubs is 6.34 million.
The country’s supplementary education system is developing within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children.” The Ministry of Education acts as the coordinator of this work. Methodological support to the regions is provided by the Center for Comprehensive Child Development “Progress,” which was established based on the ministry.
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