On October 10, 2026, the Russian Ministry of Education released an official statement regarding the national school curriculum. The press service announced that, starting in the second quarter of the 2026/2027 academic year, an extracurricular course titled "Artificial Intelligence and Information Security" would be introduced for students in grades five through eleven in a selection of pilot schools. The announcement came with a clear timeline: full coverage of every school across the country was planned for January 2027. This declaration marked the first official step toward integrating AI literacy and digital safety into the standard school experience, framing the initiative as a response to the growing presence of intelligent technologies in everyday life.
The ministry emphasized that the pilot phase would involve "thousands of schools" nationwide, a figure that signals a substantial testbed before any wider implementation. According to the statement, the course would be scheduled in a manner similar to the existing "Conversations About Important Things" program, suggesting a regular, perhaps weekly, slot within the school timetable. The pilot’s design intentionally mirrors other extracurricular offerings, aiming to minimize disruption while testing the new material in a real‑world setting.
The ministry’s description of the course’s objectives is both broad and specific. It aims to give students a "holistic and realistic understanding of AI work," detailing how artificial intelligence intersects with fields such as science, ecology, medicine, education, and industry. At the same time, a significant portion of the curriculum is devoted to information security. This includes instruction on safe interaction with AI technologies, strategies for counteracting internet fraud, and awareness of risks present in the digital environment. By pairing technical awareness with practical safety guidance, the course seeks to prepare young people not only to comprehend AI’s potential but also to navigate its challenges responsibly.
To support the rollout, the ministry confirmed that textbooks are currently in development for two age bands: grades five through nine and grades ten through eleven.
While the pilot is set to begin in the second quarter of the 2026/2027 school year, the ministry has outlined two subsequent milestones. First, full coverage of all schools is planned for January 2027, suggesting that the extracurricular offering will become available everywhere by the start of the calendar year. Second, Minister Kravtsov has stated that the course will become mandatory for grades five through eleven on September 1, 2027. This dual timeline indicates a phased approach: initial voluntary adoption followed by a compulsory requirement that will embed the subject into the standard curriculum for the targeted age range.
To support the rollout, the ministry confirmed that textbooks are currently in development for two age bands: grades five through nine and grades ten through eleven. All teachers who will instruct the course are to receive these textbooks free of charge, removing a potential financial barrier to implementation. The provision of free instructional materials aligns with the ministry’s stated goal of ensuring uniform access to the course content across the country’s diverse educational landscape. By preparing dedicated resources, the authorities aim to maintain consistency in what students learn, regardless of where they attend school.
As of the announcement date, the initiative exists primarily as a policy commitment backed by a concrete rollout schedule. The ministry’s supportive stance is evident in the detailed planning, the allocation of resources for textbooks, and the clear communication of timelines. While the pilot has not yet begun, the outlined steps—starting with a voluntary extracurricular phase in thousands of schools, moving to nationwide availability by January 2027, and culminating in a mandatory requirement from September 2027—provide a roadmap for how Russia intends to integrate AI literacy and digital safety into its school system. The coming months will reveal how schools adapt to the new offering and whether the envisioned outcomes of informed, secure AI engagement among students are realized.