This year, more than 580 young teachers will join the teaching staff of schools in the Vitebsk region

August 16, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. More than 580 young teachers will join the teaching staff of schools in the Vitebsk region in the new academic year, Ivan Shchurok, head of the education department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. Young teachers have already been enrolled and assigned to workplaces in both urban and rural schools. In total, about 14.5 thousand teachers will teach in the Vitebsk region in the 2012/2013 academic year. 92% of them have higher education, 78% have the highest and 1st qualification category, and 911 young teachers with secondary vocational education are obtaining higher education through correspondence courses. "To a lesser extent (0.25 - 0.75 positions), teachers of retirement age who teach foreign languages and mathematics will also be involved in the educational process," Ivan Shchurok noted, explaining that their potential is utilized in rural schools where there is a shortage of staff. Regarding other issues related to the new academic year, the head of the education department added that the inspection of schools has been practically completed. Out of 537 educational institutions, preparatory work is still being finalized in only eight: secondary schools No. 2 and No. 3 in Glubokoye, Plissa secondary school in Glubokoye district, Volossovich and Zaslonovo secondary schools in Lepel district, Milashovo basic school in Miory district, Rossko-Seletskaya basic and Orekhovo secondary schools in Orsha district. The deadline for the readiness of these educational institutions is set for August 25. As part of the preparation, education departments have been transferring their boiler houses to the balance of housing and communal services. Of the 365, 81 have been transferred. The remaining 284 heat sources are ready for the heating season. 60% of the planned fuel – firewood and peat – has been procured for them. To ensure the educational process, schools in the region have received 113 types of textbooks. Another 29 will arrive by September 1. The remaining 45, needed for training in the III-IV quarters, will arrive in October-November. Student transportation will be carried out by 195 school buses, of which 21 were received this year (3 have already been sent to schools, 18 will arrive by the end of August). -0-