School education of Tuva in the republican newspapers (the 1980-1990's of the XX century)

This work examines coverage by regional periodicals of urgent problems of Tuvan school education in the 1980-1990s. The periodical press is noted as one of the most popular and accessible mass media, becoming the main tool for covering the work of educational institutions in implementing school reforms. The main content, themes, periodicity of publications in the newspapers “Tuvinskaya Pravda”, “Shyn” (Pravda) and “Center of Asia”, which have been and remain the key publications covering socio-political, socioeconomic and cultural events of the region, are characterized. Based on the analysis of published materials, the following conclusion is made about the level of media coverage of education issues. In the newspapers of the 1980s, there were very few articles on the progress in the implementation of the main direction of the reform of the general education school in the republic, and the campaigning opportunities of the press were poorly used by party and government agencies. The majority of published articles was devoted to issues of family and moral education, the activities of primary “Komsomol” and “Young Pioneer” organizations, the first bell at school and the last, final examinations, summer labor practices for schoolchildren, and the best teachers. They were informational and short-term in nature and appeared on the eve of Teacher's Day, the beginning of the school year, the anniversary of an educational institution. In the 1990s the main themes of publications were the strengthening of the role of the mother tongue, the bilingualism system in Tuvan schools, the provision of educational institutions with educational and methodical literature and computer technology, raising the prestige of the teaching profession, improving the quality of education, and the innovative and experimental activities of schools in the new conditions. The active authors of the articles were the pedagogical workers. There were no reciprocal publications on acute and problematic materials from the responsible workers.