President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends,
I am delighted to congratulate and wish a happy Knowledge Day to school, college and university students, as well as to teachers and the parents of pupils.
This day has marked the lives of all of us. After all, it is in school that we all came of age and embarked on the path to adulthood. This is why we remember well the feelings of joy and anxiety we felt on September 1. Today, Russian families are once again taking their children and grandchildren to school.
I would like to offer special greetings to our dear first graders. You are about to open a new and very responsible page in your lives, a time of personal growth and development when you will get to discover and fulfil your talent and potential.
There are so many things you will learn in the process. Some will prefer social studies, while others will opt for STEM and natural science disciplines. But regardless, I am convinced that you will all be eager to discover the rich history and culture of our Fatherland. Of course, there is also the imperative of mastering digital technology and artificial intelligence while preserving your own human touch and a free and independent mindset.
Every discipline included in the school curriculum offers broad opportunities for learning something new. The fact that you will get to know teachers, mentors, true friends and like-minded people in school is equally important.
We will do everything to make sure that you –all the children of Russia and its younger generation – benefit from the best possible environment for acquiring the most up-to-date knowledge, as well as engaging in extracurricular activities, creativity, sports, and useful recreational pursuits. We want every child in our country to grow up in good health, happiness and harmony, and to receive a quality education so as to be able to choose what they want to do in life, fulfil their potential and serve others. We want our children to love their Motherland with all their hearts, respect the elderly and appreciate the values of friendship and camaraderie.
This is why we have been paying so much attention to educating and supporting the younger generation, as well as doing everything to assist teachers in their noble mission and improve the school curriculum and educational infrastructure.
Over the past six years, more than 1,600 new schools have been built in Russia for over one million students, including in Donbass and Novorossiya, our historical lands.
There is a major effort to upgrade the vocational training system, which is set to mark its 85th anniversary this year. More and more young people willingly choose these institutions to learn professions that our economy needs. Today, over 3.8 million students study at our vocational training colleges.
We are witnessing major shifts at all levels, from kindergartens to universities. Their main goal is to offer the younger generation a solid foundation for building their lives.
The future belongs to smart, educated, proactive people who care, to all those who are eager to learn as much as they can and always seek new knowledge, and who want to be useful to their country. They can achieve this objective through meaningful undertakings, as well as through their victories and achievements. Russia’s future is in your hands, friends – of all those who are starting their academic year at schools, colleges or higher education institutions.
I would like to offer you my heartfelt congratulations on this occasion and wish you every success and, of course, good health and well-being to all teachers, parents, grandfathers and grandmothers of these students.
Happy Knowledge Day.
Onward to new horizons!