More than 2,500 Russian schools are still to obtain authorization for opening on the first day of the new academic year, the chief state fire supervision inspector of the Emergency Situations Ministry, Gennady Kirillov, told Itar-Tass.

(Kazan, August 26, Tatar-inform). More than 2,500 Russian schools are still to obtain authorization for opening on the first day of the new academic year, the chief state fire supervision inspector of the Emergency Situations Ministry, Gennady Kirillov, told Itar-Tass.

“As at August 24, the commissions (of representatives from the Emergency Situations Ministry, consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Education, Health and Social Development Ministry and Interior Ministry) were still to examine only 1,100 schools, or 2.3 percent of the total number, and more than 2,500 schools, or 5 percent of the total number have not received permission yet," the government commission on the prevention and elimination of emergency situations said.

The largest number of unauthorized schools is in the Chukotka Autonomous Area (one in three), Kurgan Region (29 percent), North Ossetia (25 percent), Bryansk Region (23 percent), and Leningrad Region (18 percent).

The most frequent violations of fire safety requirements are the absence or malfunctioning of automatic fire alarm systems, warning systems, internal fire water supply, electrical network problems and unsatisfactory escape routes.

Kirillov said that inspections revealed more than 70,000 violations of fire safety requirements. More than 17,000 officials and 6,500 legal entities incurred administrative punishment.

"The courts, acting on the basis of fire inspectorate findings, suspended 820 schools," said Kirillov. The schools were closed for different periods until the elimination of violations.

"This is a very large number," said Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu. "I would not want to bring the situation to an extreme. I hope that our colleagues locally will fulfill the tasks that were set to them."

Deputy Science and Education Minister Yuri Sentyurin explained that schools’ preparations for the new school are over in 17 regions.

"In the others this work is being completed. The rate of schools’ readiness in the remaining regions ranges 75-98 percent," he said.

The deputy minister pointed to the Chukotka Autonomous Area and the Tver Region, where, according to the Ministry of Education, the proportion of unexamined schools is 69 and 31 percent respectively.

According to the official, Russia has more than 111,000 general educational establishments. This year, more than one million first-graders will take seats at their desks in classrooms.

The number of educational institutions in Russia has declined by more than 2,000. In the meantime, the number of childcare centers has been growing and the number of boys and girls going to them has been up by 81,000.