20.06.2017, Russia.
Dividing the history portion of the Unified National Examination (UNE) into two levels, basic and advanced, will produce “a generation of Mitrofanushkas” [a character from the D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy, The Minor, known for his ignorance and laziness ― Editor], Pavel Rasinsky, a member of the Central Council of the All-Russian Parents’ Resistance (ARPR), said on June 20 in a commentary to a Rossa Primavera News Agency correspondent.
“Dividing the history exam into two levels, basic and advanced, will dramatically reduce the level of knowledge on this subject, as would be the case for any subject with a two-level exam. We all remember the primitive level of math problems at the basic level,” Rasinsky said referring to an article titled Let us save mathematics, one and undivided!
“Undoubtedly, the level of questions on the basic-level history exam will be as critically low for mathematics. This will produce numerous half-educated graduates, new Mitrofanushkas, who will see no need in “geography” (history, mathematics etc.) because “the cabman will get us there” [ a quote from The Minor]. But where exactly will this ‘cabman’ take them?” the expert asks.
This collapse of education can potentially destroy the country, Rasinsky believes.
“To make things worse, history is a science which is important for the self-identification of the people. In 1991, anti-Soviet ideologists successfully played on the poor knowledge of history among the majority of the population to push the USSR to its collapse. By producing a generation of Mitrofanushkas, capable of passing only the basic examination on history, we will again doom our country to destruction. The point is that such a generation will put up no resistance to new myths about our history, which will imminently bring our people’s minds to the idea that the “criminal state” must be destroyed for the best of humanity. These new myths have already been prepared,” the member of the ARPR Central Council emphasized.
On June 19, the Head of the Federal Education and Science Supervision Service, Sergey Kravtsov, said that the UNE on history may be divided into basic and advanced levels if a corresponding decision is made by the Ministry of Education and Science.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
