Chernyshenko announced the allocation of more than 1.1 billion rubles for the Zemsky Uchitel program

The Federal Zemsky Uchitel program will be funded by more than 1.1 billion rubles in 2026. This was announced on January 15 by Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

The program is implemented within the framework of the national project "Youth and Children" and is aimed at ensuring equal access to education, as well as attracting teachers to small towns and rural settlements.

"According to the results of the 2025 competitive selections, all vacancies have been filled, and almost 600 million rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for these purposes. This year, the number of places and funds for the program has doubled to 1,216 vacancies and more than 1.18 billion rubles," Chernyshenko is quoted as saying on the Russian government's website.

The Deputy Prime Minister also noted the importance of supporting teachers from the regions during the move. The key measure of assistance for the program participants remains a one—time payment: 1 million rubles, and for teachers working in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as in the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District - 2 million rubles. The funds received can be used at your discretion, including to improve housing conditions.

According to Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, the program makes it possible to attract highly qualified specialists to schools in small towns and rural areas. In 2025, all 599 vacancies in 79 regions of the country were closed, and the project will be continued in 2026.

Doesn't want to become a millionaire: how to make the Zemsky Uchitel program more effective

By the beginning of the school year, only 62% of teacher vacancies in rural areas had been filled.

In September 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that payments for "zemstvo" programs in the border region be increased to 2 million rubles from 2027. The President also instructed to consider the abolition of age restrictions for participation in the Zemsky Uchitel and Zemsky Trainer programs.

At the same time, Tatyana Kupriyanova, deputy chairman of the express monitoring of the All-Russian Trade Union of Education, said that now the housing issue is the decisive factor for the teacher's relocation to rural areas under the Zemsky Uchitel program. Teachers are also interested in the possibility of placing their children in preschool institutions, paying for relocation and accessibility of cultural leisure, and, of course, the level of salaries.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.