The key facts
- Khadijat Magomedova has spent nine years walking 14 km through the mountains every day to the school in the village of Khonokh and back
- Three children study at the primary school located at an altitude of about 1,800 meters; the teacher teaches all the core subjects
- According to the education ministry, the share of unfilled teaching vacancies fell from 1.8 to 1.1%
A daily route through the mountains
In Dagestan, a schoolteacher has spent nine years covering 14 kilometers along mountain trails every day to teach lessons to three children. This was reported by the Telegram channel Mash, and a story on the topic was published by Life.ru. The trip to school and back takes the woman about four hours, and along the way she has to deal with rockfalls and wild animals.
A school at 1,800 meters above sea level
Khadijat Magomedova works in the small village of Khonokh in the Shamilsky District. At an altitude of about 1,800 meters above sea level stands the primary school that she heads; she also teaches the children all the core subjects herself. Three children currently attend the school — two boys and a girl. They study in two grades, but the lessons are held in a single room.
A two-hour journey one way
The teacher leaves home at around seven in the morning. First she has to descend 400 meters down the mountain slope, and then climb the neighboring mountain where the school is located. One way is seven kilometers and about two hours of walking; in the evening the route is repeated in reverse. Once on the way she encountered a wolf: hearing a howl, the woman spotted the animal in a clearing, but the predator did not come closer and soon left. There have also been rockfalls on her path, especially dangerous on narrow mountain sections.
Context: staff shortages in Russian schools
Life.ru also recalls that ahead of the school year, Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov reported a reduction in the number of unfilled teaching vacancies in Russian schools: according to him, the share of open positions fell from 1.8 to 1.1% compared with the beginning of the previous school year. The ministry viewed this trend as an indicator of the education system's readiness for classes. At the same time, the story of the Dagestani teacher shows that in remote mountain villages the issue of access to education is largely resolved through the personal self-sacrifice of teachers: with only three pupils, classes at the school continue only because the teacher is willing to walk the mountain route every day.
