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Modern Approach to Problems of Professional Education in System of Special State Services of RF
G.S.Simukhin, Head of Moscow Frontier Institute (FSB of Russia)
Under modern conditions reforming of all sides of state life instigates necessity to reform professional education which must conform to the needs of society in highly qualified professionals. A special place in such reform is given to higher professional education for special state services (SSS). The education shall be considered as a new educational system integrated by means of a number of specific conditions of the same kind. Special services prevent terrorism, drug dealing, smuggling, illegal migration, export of weapons, foreign currency, strategic raw stuff, materials, energy resources, sea products as well as other types of crime; they protect public authorities, important objects of the state; they also combat transnational organized crime; the services participate in liquidation of consequences of natural disasters and emergencies. The above authorities closely interrelate and professional activities of their experts have much in common. The common features are:
- they act for the most part during peace-time;
- continuous interdepartmental interrelation of troops and authorities of special state services during performing of their tasks;
- lower levels (units) of all special state services are not numerous and independently perform the functions of main executors of service and military tasks (frontier post, security unit of interior troops, reconnaissance parties, unit of government security etc.);
- in educational institutions of special state services the same types and forms of study are applied;
- common manoeuvres and games are routinely held where matters of interrelation of different state services units are polished;
- common approaches to use of new educational technologies are applied (this is due to similarity of troops' and bodies' actions during performing of service and military tasks by specialists);
- joint scientific research on various problems of service and military and educational activity;
- common approaches to content and volume of re-training (extra training) of those rare specialists who received their education in institutions of other bodies;
- departmental educational systems are identical as well as the approaches to their upgrade and development;
- there is identical departmental educational normative and legal basis;
- the closest in terms of content state educational standards are developed.
Common nature of professional activity of SSS specialists demonstrates common trends of professional education reforming and their close interrelation with regard to the problem. Standardization of education takes a special place in this respect.
Besides that it is important to find the type of interrelation of SSS system and other departmental educational systems as well as the common issues that consolidate them.
Today we face a real situation when development of SSS professional education has stopped at the achieved stage. Problems of quality and efficiency of education, development of psychological and pedagogical system of SSS experts preparation and formation management. And solution of the problems occurred to be an imperative of practical implementation of professional education reforms.
Considering the problems of modern reform of SSS professional education it would be expedient to take into account the history of its forming and development. Officers for special state services even lately were prepared mostly in educational institutions of military services. Constant development of arms, technical equipment; change of conditions of troops' and bodies' activity required reconsideration of personnel training system. So at the end of XIX century a number of military academies was questioned: which shall be the nature and volume of tasks entrusted with them, i.e. shall they go for expansion of education for types and branches of troops and defense structures or to not to go beyond proper training of officers of a certain field but the well prepared ones?1. Such question has arisen not by chance. It resulted from the experience of wars in which Russia participated at the end of XIX century. However no clear and timely decisions were made with regard to military education. Significant defects of officers' training were one of the reason s why Russian was defeated in its war with Japan which took place at the beginning of XX century. The fact lead to a serious analysis of officers' training in military educational institutions of that time. The basic proposals of scientists and experts in improvement of military education added up to maximal approach of theory to practice and all-out renewal of major subjects. It is true that the proposals of experts in improvement of military education were not always considered in practice. And this certainly affected the results of further military operations. Also they said that officers in their educational institutions were prepared not for a future war but for a past one.
After revolution of 1917 there were many attempts to change some military academies into civil educational institutions. However it was practically demonstrated that this negatively affects the quality of officers' training.
Further development of weapons, technical equipment, forms and ways of armed fight required creation of new educational institutions in accordance with types and branches of troops for Ministry of Defense. SSS service- and battle-oriented changes resulted in their separation from military educational system and creation of SSS departmental educational institutions. At first such specialization was implemented on tactical level (set up of military schools and institutes). Then came the operations and tactical level (creation of departmental academies in educational systems of SSS). As a result multi-level departmental SSS educational systems were established.
Reasoning from the above it follows that as the time passed SSS and military educational systems replaced unitary military educational system. Practice of experts of such services has much in common, especially when it comes to conditions of emergency when solving the problems of terrorists' combating and liquidation of emergencies consequences. Today special services generally tackle their problems by civil methods; and it is inexpedient to train them in military colleges. That is why we are going to spotlight educational system of SSS which altogether solve many problems, including terrorism prevention, under contemporary conditions.
Assessing the narrow educational system we should first of all find out if it really provides the required quality of education corresponding to the tasks set by the department as well as the quality of training. These indices are today of the key importance.
Experience proves that quality of principal experts training for SSS in departmental (own) educational institutions is higher compared with colleges of Ministry of Defense. This is explained by a number of reasons:
- submission of educational institutions to their departments;
- prompt amendment of educational process in conformity with changes of service and field activity of troops and bodies of the service;
- close relations between educational institutions and the authorities which allow to promptly and fully take advantage of practical experience as well as for higher educational institutional to be involved in scientific research in the interests of troops, authorities and the institutions themselves;
- purposeful and full provision of hardware and financial means;
- step-by-step supply of training personnel to the higher educational institutions by their services etc.
Among the urgent measures aimed at intense reform of professional education in the SSS system a special place is given to its necessity to reach brand new forms of organization and management.
First of all we have to solve the problems connected with inclusion of military and professional training of SSS, as two independent systems, into integrated federal educational area.
In this connection in the nearest future it is important to submit respective proposals to State Duma for due amendment and supplement of RF laws "About defense", "About military duty and military service", "About education", "About higher and postgraduate professional education". These laws are to include respective amendments concerning actual existence and peculiarities of two independent types of professional education: military and SSS ones.
We should initiate re-making of the existing "Model Provision about Military Educational Institution" where we should also reflect the contemporary variants of education: system of military education and professional training of SSS.
In the end the changes are to clearly define:
1. State policy and its principles in the area of military education and professional training of SSS.
2. Aims, tasks and subjects of military education and professional training of SSS.
3. Maintaining of military educational institutions and SSS colleges off the departments or among them. Procedure of their financing from each department. It would be expedient to fix the percentage of each department's supply aimed at financing of educational institutions via normative acts.
4. Government contractual work with regard to specialists' training.
5. Status and independent regulation of military educational institutions' and SSS colleges' activity.
6. Distribution of authorities between governmental bodies, departmental managing bodies in charge of education, educational and principles unions and colleges themselves.
7. Types, forms, term and routine of contracts concluding and liability of students and graduates of educational institutions in case of contracts infringement.
We face urgent necessity to develop and approve Federal Educational Standard of third generation in Ministry of Education. The standard must have a new structure of requirements building (especially when it comes to continuous education).
In SSS state educational institutions one has to develop and introduce Federal Educational Standards of Additional Professional Education in training process (such opportunity is ensured by respective Decree by Ministry of Education) and to define the list of its subjects. Such subjects could be:
- management (human resources management, educational, scientific management, sociology, psychology etc.);
- finance and economics (economic substantiation of the decisions made, finance management for all managers of different levels);
- information and analytics (information technologies in management, scientific discipline of documentation etc.);
- law (legal support in SSS);
- language (language in the area of professional communication) etc.
These standards may determine:
- structure of additional professional education;
- requirements to the branches of additional professional education taking into consideration the type of professional activity of experts. The requesters of the experts shall take immediate part in the development of the requirements;
- requirements to educational programs of additional professional education;
- requirements to educational institutions involved in sphere of additional education.
Education control bodies of some SSS in a number of vases did not take into account the time factor with regard to training areas and they just blindly copies the respective decree by Ministry of Defense which determined subjects, qualification and levels of military education. That is why now certain SSS institutes prepare specialists with higher military-special education, and their academies- with higher military one.
However in modern common international terms and in terms of RF Ministry of Education the following is attributed to special education: "educational institutions intended for people who are different from ordinary students. They are people with physical disadvantages or retarded in their mental condition as well as people with extraordinary intellectual faculties".2 In modern documents of RF Government and Ministry of Education the notions of "special education" and "military-special education" are not used in their old meaning anywhere.3 In this connection we should be guided by contemporary terms and be more precise when it comes to all the existing normative and legal documents.
Besides that analysis of time budget in institutes of some SSS and Ministry of Defense shows that in terms of number of hours devoted to purely professional (military) subjects the former are significantly inferior to similar institutes of Ministry of Defense and are close in the number of hours to military departments of civil higher educational institutions. Therefore SSS institutes must to our opinion give their graduates secondary professional education and higher professional one in the allied field (for social and economic area), and academies- higher professional one. It is very important to develop State Educational Standard of Secondary Professional Education for the institutes and to approve it in RF Ministry of Education. Starting from 2003-04 it should be introduced in the educational process.
Personal normative and legal basis of SSS of Russia which supports functioning of professional education system requires remaking (amendments, supplements). Such remaking should be particularly aimed at diving more independence to higher educational institutions, awarding their heads greater authorities. Specifically, to appoint heads of departments, faculties, years, make organization and personnel changes right up to introduction of new subdivisions within budget financing and available staff. Rapid scientific research work and submission of proposals to SSS management in accordance with the order, branches, terms of remaking and introduction of new normative documents shall forego remaking of normative and legal basis.
Step-by- step departmental integration of higher educational institutions and scientific and research structures is a must (2002-06, I stage; 2006-10, II stage). Such pace of integration will ensure maintaining of results of colleges' attestation and accreditation since when a higher educational education is reorganized and its organizational and legal form is changed then its articles of association, license and certificate of state accreditation become void. That is why comprehensive analysis of opportunities and terms of integration in the framework of law is important.
On the start developmental work with regard to personnel structure, elaboration of new programs and holding of other organizational activities would be expedient. The second stage shall be devoted to practice of integration of higher educational institutions.
Upgrading of studying by correspondence, especially distance learning and external studies aimed at creation of continuous system of professional education of SSS experts would be expedient. For this reason, on the grounds of qualifying requirements to an SSS college graduate, Federal Educational Standard of Higher and Secondary Professional Education of third generation as well as Federal Standard of Additional Professional Education should include, after proper development, special requirements to officers' training in the course of their whole service, while occupying each of the positions.
It is essential to design a model of an expert's training cycle during his service and military activity. Special programs of carrier growth would be of use is they replace the existing programs of commanders' training.
Each SSS must possess its own database on the most perspective (professionally trained) officers.
Quality of training improvement on the grounds of intensifying of education constitutes an integral part of structural reforms in the system of professional training. In this connection it is expedient:
- to organize development of new curriculums and programs supporting realization of requirements of new State Educational Standards of the third generation;
- to introduce information technologies in training process in complex (creation of institutional and inter- institutional training complexes);
- to introduce individual approach to training and throughout development of specialist;
- to change approaches to organization of probation and practical training.
Establishing of Interdepartmental Research Center on Problems of Experts Training Quality at the expense of the number of the existing scientific- research institutions would be the best solution of the problem of finding new approaches towards SSS experts training quality improvement. The research division could solve the following tasks:
- integration of the available perspective developments in the area of quality of specialists training and introduction them into educational process of departmental higher educational institutions;
- creation of projects and joint realization of federal programs, aimed at improvement of education, with other interested structures;
- summarizing of the advanced practices in the area of personnel training in Russia and abroad, development of proposals of its use;
- exercise educational activity in the interests of further training of specialists of the higher school of various departments on the problems of personnel training quality.
Science of higher education in SSS should be developed more intensively. Under modern conditions it is aimed at: making practical contribution in the process of perfection of SSS themselves; development of scientific advice on their stabilizing, formation and effective solution of service and military tasks. In this connection it is expedient to integrate the science of higher education with scientific developments of SSS research institutions, expand the area of fundamental and applied researches, to introduce them on-the -fly in the practice of troops', bodies' and educational institutions' activities.
Grounded developments and application of norms of budget financing of higher educational institutions are needed. They must insure covering of expenses not only on money allowances of enlisted personnel and salary of civil staff, communal services but also on educational purposes.
It is very important to reorganize the bodies of education control and take measures aimed at enhancement of efficiency of professional educational management at all levels. In this connection one should improve the routine of centralized management if colleges altogether with expansion of academic independence. It is expedient to clearly define the principles of self-government of higher school, determine the limits of administrative intrusion into colleges' activities in conformity with federal laws in the area of education.
International cooperation in the field of SSS professional education should be enhanced.
Necessity to improve welfare and social standards of SSS academic teaching staff is a vital and urgent problem. It is a matter of giving a new status to professors, teachers, researchers. It is important to solve the problem of application of the President's Decree "About introduction of skill categories for teaching staff and researchers", which draft was submitted to the RF President by the Union of Rectors, to SSS higher educational institutions.
The issues connected with implementation of Federal program of reform of military education system in the Russian Federation must be given a particular attention.
In modern conditions SSS deal with the tasks which totally differ from the ones of recent times. With is well-illustrated by the example of Frontier Guard Service which now solves the problems which radically differ from those of times of purely army-connected protection of federal border. Nowadays the major tasks of Frontier Guard Service are:
- provision of economic safety of the state within the areas close to the borders as well as effective control of foreign trade turnover;
- organized (trans-border) crime combating; struggle with illegal migration, weapons and drugs smuggling;
- banning of strategic and natural resources plundering, including sea bio resources etc.
Today military component of federal border protection accounts for less than 20% of total volume of professional tasks. Frontier Guard Service possesses a military component required for special operations in case of war or military conflicts. Currently efficient activities constitute the basis of forms and methods of frontier protection. In the area of channels of international relations this it based on frontier control.
Other SSS also implement non-military methods in performing of their tasks. This requires training of specialists in accordance with new, absolutely specific curriculums and study programs different from the ones of colleges under Ministry of Defense. That is why SSS higher educational institutions can not provide military education. Due to this at this stage there are practically two systems of education in the area of training of defense structures of different field.
It is evident, that in the frameworks of realization of Federal program of reforming of system of military education only the problems of training of officers of small (minor) majors of tactical level for SSS may be resolved. Without taking into consideration this fact adjustment and adoption of new laws on education is impossible. When optimization and liquidation of higher educational institutions it would be wise to be guided by the decisions of SSS leaders. Otherwise the current system of training of experts for departments may be broken.
Systems of professional education of SSS of Russia should efficiently and quickly adopt to social and economic changes in the state and in the world, especially under conditions of international terrorism activation. At the same time they must be stable with regard to their psychological and pedagogical basis, beyond the control of actual state of affairs.
Concurrently we should stress that long-term interests of SSS require immediate elaboration of new scientifically based strategy of specialists' training, as the major component of state security support.
Simukhin Gennadiy Semenovich served in frontier troops, took parts in the war in Republic of Afghanistan, former Head of Administration of Main Headquarters of Federal Frontier Guard Service. Lieutenant-general, Candidate of Sciences in Pedagogy, assistant professor.
Notes:
1. Beskrovnyi L.G. Army and fleet of Russia in the beginning of XX century: Essays on military and economic potential., M., 1986. p. 37
2. Vishniakova S.M. Professional education: Vocabulary. Key notions, terms, urgent vocabulary. . M., 1999. p. 318.
3. Decree by Government of the Russian Federation of 05.04.01 No 264 "About approval of Model provision about educational institutions of higher professional education of the Russian Federation".
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