Teachers: Low Pay Makes Putin's Kindergarten Extension a Joke

Kindergarten schedules should be extended until 8:00 PM to help women return to work faster after childbirth, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the government. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko stated that the cabinet will work on the issue with governors. However, teachers themselves, as found by 74.RU, are not thrilled with such an idea. Moreover, in their opinion, it could negatively affect the psyche of young children. For more on what educators, parents, and psychologists think about the authorities« initiative, see the 74.RU article.

“Those Who Remain Will Quit”

Kindergartens in the country typically work 12 hours — from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Teachers acknowledge that many parents pick up their children before 6:00 PM, with only a few remaining until 7:00. Therefore, preschool workers see no urgent need to extend the working day.

“It would be relevant to create duty groups,” a kindergarten teacher believes. “Usually, only a few children remain in groups until 7:00 PM, so let there be one duty group created on the initiative of the head, and teachers would take turns on duty there, once a week, for example. If we work every day until 8:00 PM, then we, the teachers, will have no personal time. As it is, there’s no one to work: salaries of 30,000 rubles (about $333 at current rates) are a joke, and now those who remain will quit. Honestly, there are very few specialists left in preschool education; people who come to work in the profession mostly do so after retraining.”

The heads we spoke with also see no point in extending the working day.

“The initiative has been announced, but no mechanisms have been proposed; there are many unclear nuances and questions,” says the head of one of the kindergartens in Chelyabinsk. “On one hand, I understand parents; for some, it will indeed be convenient. But, on the other hand, kindergartens have such a problem as staff shortage — this is practically everywhere. Teachers sometimes work all day when there is no second educator, and they have their own children too. And now the working day will be increased? Suppose, okay, they’ll adapt, but then the entire schedule, the work of other employees, will have to be changed. If a child leaves later, then dinner must be later, the daily routine will have to be changed.”

“We will adapt, figure out how to organize teachers, but here the question of payment arises. I doubt that the state will find funding for this initiative,” shares another kindergarten head. “Another point is moral: we are sounding the alarm because parents should spend time with their child. And they will only sleep with him if they pick him up at eight in the evening, since according to the schedule, it’s already time to go to bed at nine.”

“An Exception, Not the Norm”

Psychologists say that spending more than 12 hours in kindergarten is even dangerous for children«s psyche: a child»s nervous system is not designed for such a long load.

“Duty groups are needed, but based on the real needs of parents, and just doing this — it’s crippling children«s psyche,” explains a psychologist at a kindergarten in the Central District. “Increasing preschoolers’ time in kindergarten to 13 hours is an unfavorable and risky decision. By the 10th–11th hour of stay, most children show pronounced exhaustion: self-control decreases, anxiety increases, behavioral and psychosomatic reactions appear. Extending the day intensifies the gap with a significant adult and undermines the child’s basic sense of security. With a 13-hour schedule, the child essentially lives in an institution, not in a family. This shifts development priorities: instead of emotional stability, adaptation to survival in an environment of demands is formed. Such a format is permissible only as an exception, not the norm.”

Just Increase Their Salaries

“I work until 6:00 PM, I come for my child at 6:40, and he is always the last one,” says Elena, a mother of a preschooler. “The teacher often looks at me with such condemning eyes, as if I couldn’t pick him up earlier. And I couldn’t. I think their work shouldn’t be extended until 8:00 PM; I would like them to work simply according to schedule — if until 7:00, then until 7:00, so that I am not condemned by looks or words.”

In some kindergartens, duty groups have long been created.

“In our entire kindergarten, at 5:30 PM, children are taken to duty groups — one duty group for four groups,” says another mother. “The teacher is on duty until 7:00 PM approximately once a week. The last child is picked up at 6:30 PM — that’s the latest. I myself pick up one of the last, but my child himself asks for it; he likes kindergarten, loves playing with children.”

“Don’t increase the working hours for poor teachers; just increase their salaries,” remarks another parent. “In fact, this will be used by mothers who are on maternity leave with a second child, or non-working mothers, to rest.”

The regional Ministry of Education and Science told 74.RU how many teachers are currently lacking in the Chelyabinsk region. They did not give a specific number, only saying that kindergarten staffing is over 95 percent.

“The overwhelming majority of preschool educational organizations operate on a 12-hour schedule, which corresponds to the standard schedule. To meet the individual needs of families, particularly parents employed in production with shift schedules, duty groups are formed at kindergartens. Also available are several organizations with round-the-clock stay, where currently there is low demand and available places,” commented Anton Tumanov, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Chelyabinsk region, to 74.RU.

At the end of 2024, kindergartens across Russia had 183,000 vacant positions, which is about 10% of the required staff. This is reported by the project «If to Be Precise».

Among the unfilled positions — 40,000 teachers, 26,000 assistant teachers, 9,000 music directors, and 3,500 medical workers.

The project reports that the number of young employees is constantly decreasing — likely due to low pay levels.

According to the Database of Municipal Formation Indicators, the average salary of kindergarten employees (both teachers and junior staff) in Russia is 40,700 rubles per month (about $452 at current rates). The median indicator is lower — 36,900 rubles (about $410 at current rates).