The Russian Federation is ready to share its experience in teaching religious culture in schools with Kyrgyzstan.

Russia is ready to share its experience in teaching religious culture in schools with Kyrgyzstan

Today, during the discussion of the Plan of Priority Actions to expand cooperation between the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of the two ministries focused on teaching the fundamentals of religious culture and secular ethics in schools.

According to the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Kyrgyzstan, Nadira Jusupekova, the basic curriculum of Kyrgyzstan includes a subject called "History of Religious Culture," which introduces students to the history, traditions, originality, and uniqueness of each religious culture.

"In 56 schools of the republic, a pilot implementation of the subject 'History of Religious Culture' was conducted for 9th-grade students," she said.

Larisa Kolycheva, the Director of the Center for Artistic, Aesthetic, and Physical Education of the Publishing House "Prosveshchenie," stated that Russia has a decade of experience in this area.

"The goal of education is to foster motivation for moral activity among students, with attention given to the value of cultural traditions and strengthening the interaction between school and family. The course itself is cultural and does not have a religious character. The educators are secular and have undergone professional development. No grades are assigned for this subject. The course is comprehensive, consisting of six modules – 'Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures,' 'Fundamentals of Secular Ethics,' 'Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture,' 'Fundamentals of Islamic Culture,' 'Fundamentals of Buddhist Culture,' and 'Fundamentals of Jewish Culture.'

In the third grade, during a parent meeting, families receive a complete overview of this course, and parents specify in a statement which module their child will study. In the fourth grades, groups are formed for each module, even if only one student is enrolled in a module. Despite the elective nature, all students gain knowledge based on the overall vision of the course. The entire class goes through the first course, then students are divided, and at the end, they create joint projects," she explained.

Nadira Jusupekova suggested organizing a series of online meetings with those who developed and tested a similar course in the schools of the Kyrgyz Republic.

"We are interested not just in your experience, but also in the analysis of your experience," she emphasized.