In the USA a representative of Yamal shared experience on organizing of nomadic education

The sitting of the working group on sustainable development of the Arctic is taking place in the town Kotzebue, the USA. The event united representatives of the states – members of the Arctic Council and 6 organizations of indigenous peoples of the Arctic.

A member of the Public Chamber Alexander Yevay represented Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. He spoke on the presentation of the project of Yamal “Nomadic School”, as the press-service of the governor of Yamal informs. 42 thousand representatives of indigenous ethnic minorities of the North live in the region; 17 thousand of them conduct traditional nomadic way of life. 3600 children live together with their parents in tundra. They study and live in 24 boarding schools during 9 months per year. Boarding schools, education of children, their nutrition, clothes, transportation from nomadic camps to schools and back are provided from the regional budget. Permanent travelling of tundra people and change of locations of their nomadic camps do not allow preschool pupils to visit stationary kindergartens and be educated for school. The regional program “Nomadic School” became one of methods to solve this problem. 22 educational organizations provide education on locations of nomadic camps on the territory of Yamal: 17 kindergartens and 5 schools. More than 200 children of nomads receive nomadic education. Basically, mobile dwelling of indigenous peoples of Yamal – a choum and modular buildings in small rural settlements or on hunting and fishing stations are used to organize educational process. Different models of nomadic education were formed in the result of search for more effective ways of organizing of education in nomadic camps in Yamal: semi-stationary and nomadic schools, a stationary model, a seasonal nomadic school. A visiting teacher is one more variant to render services of preschool education. It supposes creation of short-stay groups of children in small national settlements and organizing of work of teachers of a kindergarten in a mobile mode. Subsidies for purchasing of sets of equipment “Nomadic Teacher” and snowmobiles for nomadic schools of three districts were allocated to provide the project “Nomadic School”. Education of nomadic teachers in Yamal multidiscipline college was organized. Modular buildings of nomadic schools equipped with everything necessary, including satellite communication systems, were purchased at the expenses of the regional budget. Grants were allocated for fulfillment of innovative projects on development of nomadic forms of education. Teaching and methodological aids of the new generation were elaborated for teachers. The intermediate results of fulfillment of the project “Nomadic School” show that cover children with preschool education grows. Such form of education considerably simplifies adaptation of children at entering a boarding school and assists to big progress of pupils. Children receive preschool education without losing skills of communication in native language but saving cultural and historical traditions of indigenous peoples.