Remote Learning Project “ROST”: development, education, socialization, employment
One of Rostelecom's priorities is bridging the digital divide. Thanks to the “Bridging the Digital Divide” Project, by 2024 communication services will be available to citizens living in rural areas in remote and inaccessible areas. They will have an opportunity to use all modern digital capabilities.
Since 2014, Rostelecom, together with the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization (ANO) ROST, has been implementing the ROST distance teaching project that includes development, education, socialization and employment of pupils and leavers of orphanages, boarding schools and children left without parental care.
Special electronic manuals were prepared for the project that combine a text and educational multimedia material (video lessons, teacher’s audio and video comments). Highly professional teachers from different regions of Russia who train students for successful passing of the Unified State Examination (USE) are involved in the project. Volunteers and teachers from Germany, Holland, France and the USA also participate in the distance teaching project.
Using advanced technologies of online education provides an opportunity to achieve a high percentage of USE passing for children participating in ANO "ROST" programs. In 2018, 170 people from 22 institutions became participants to the program, 69 of them successfully passed state exams.
Following the results of the year 2018, the joint educational project ANO "ROST" received a grant from the President of the Russian Federation in the nomination "Support for projects in the field of science and education." Thanks to the grant, the program for 2019 foresees inclusion of ten new children's institutions in five regions of the Russian Federation. There is a plan to expand educational support for children in foster care and children enrolled in colleges and universities. Also in the Astrakhan, Smolensk, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl regions, Perm Territory and the Republic of Tatarstan, the number of children's institutions with distance learning will be increased.
In 2018, Rostelecom also became winner of the annual prize "Russia's Best Social Projects" for the ROST project in the nomination "Projects in Support of Disadvantaged Groups".
In 2019, Rostelecom provides access to high-quality individual education via the Internet for 222 children from 30 child ñare centers in 21 regions of the Russian Federation.
In total, with the support of ANO ROST and Rostelecom, more than 740 children from 54 children's institutions in 27 regions of Russia received training. Many of them successfully passed the exam and entered various higher educational institutions, including Lomonosov Moscow State University and Higher School of Economics.