On Monday, 3 June, the Dagestan State Medical University hosted a roundtable discussion on ‘Improving the effectiveness of targeted education and further training of education and healthcare specialists’. It was attended by Biyisultan Khamzaev, Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Visampasha Khanaliev, Rector of DSMU, Yakhya Buchaev, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Belyaeva, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, Murtazali Rabadanov, Rector of DSMU, representatives of higher education institutions of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education and Science of Dagestan.

Opening the round table, B. Khamzaev spoke about the need to improve the efficiency of targeted training of specialists for healthcare and education in the regions. ‘These issues are raised and discussed at the highest level. The personnel issue remains one of the main issues in the sphere of medicine and education. I hope that during our meeting we will work out ways to solve this problem, which is quite acute.

The target enrolment system today does not give the effect that was originally expected from it. That is, a young person receives education at the expense of the state under the state order, and when they leave, less than 50 per cent of those who studied under the target quota return to their places,’ he said.

It was noted that if the target quota for medical specialities is filled, the other specialities are underfilled. This also has a negative impact on the shortage of specialists in rural areas.

‘Our task is that together with the issue of increasing the effectiveness of targeted training, to discuss also related issues such as salaries of specialists in rural areas, incentive payments, housing and many others. And these proposals will be brought to a higher level for detailed consideration,’ the deputy said.

The roundtable discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of targeted training for health care and education, reports of representatives of universities on this topic, changes in targeted recruitment and proposed ways to increase the prestige of the profession of medical worker and teacher, mechanisms for attracting specialists to rural areas by providing benefits, housing and salary increments.