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(Welcome letter to the participants of the 13- th International Exhibition “Customs Service 2011”, of V.S. Chechevatov, the Head of the Russian Customs Academy)
Dear friends!
The State public educational institution of high professional education “The Russian customs Academy” (RCA) was founded on 22 September 1993 by the decision of Russian Federation Government.
The Academy – is a basic high educational institution of Educational and methodological Association of high educational institutions in the field of customs which consists of 74 educational institutions of the country.
Academy’s structure, which has three brunches – in Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don and St. Petersburg consists of two institutes –The Institute of E-Learning, retraining and qualification improvement and the Institute of law enforcement activity, three faculties – the Faculty of customs affairs, The Faculty of law and the Faculty of economics, 24 departments, postgraduate and doctoral.
Today at the departments of the Academy work more than 50 doctors of science and professors, more than 200 candidates of science and associate professors.
In RCA there is a modern informational-educational environment, the basis of which is the situation and analytical training centre with the help of which it is possible to connect with real functioning structures of FCS of Russia and its regional customs departments, and also the system of distant education, of FCS of Russia employees is being successfully developed.
The scientific activity of the Academy is many sided and effective; it involves organizational, researching, informational and library – informational fields.
During the graduate school in RCA, where 250 people are studying today, for all of form of studying, they have opportunity to get high scientific and scientific-pedagogical qualifications as well as the citizens of foreign states.
In the Academy is actively conducted educational work, which includes both spiritual and moral dimensions as well as sports and rehabilitate aspects.
In order to provide training, research and other activities at the Academy there are: 2 training and laboratory complexes, educational and scientific building, a library, a fitness centre (2 gyms, shooting range, and skiing lodge), 2 hotel buildings, a canteen.
According to the “Memorandum of Understanding between the World Customs Organization and the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation” of 25 November 2002, the Academy has received international status and now it is the Regional Training Centre of the World Customs Organization, which is training a highly qualified customs personnel, providing organization and holding regional meetings on personnel training issues.
The strategy of development for the Russian Customs Academy was worked out up to 2015 and approved by the Head of the Federal Customs Service. The aim of the Academy – is to become a University up to 2013, which will require increasing the number of training issues for students and the number of graduates. And at the same time remember that the competitiveness of graduates of our educational institution should be the highest and the customs authorities should be staffed mainly by our graduates.
WORKING ON THE TEXT
Ex.1. SKIMMING:
a. Read the headline and the first sentence of each paragraph of the text. Pair up to discuss the topic of the article.
b. Read the first paragraph and the last paragraph of the text. Then work in pairs to discuss the contents of the piece.
c. Read the text. Get into pairs to discuss the contents of the piece.
Ex.2. SCANNING:
a. While scanning the text find the answers for content-specific questions given by the teacher.
b. While scanning the text pick out the sentences containing the key words given by the teacher.
Ex.3. READING: Read and translate the text “The Russian Customs Academy Overview”.
Ex.4. CHAT: Talk in pairs or groups about the Russian customs academy.
Ex.5. 2-MINUTE DEBATES: Students face each other in pairs and engage in the following 2-minute debates. The subject is “I am a student of the Russian customs academy”. Speak about the educational and scientific activities of the academy.
Ex.6. HIGHER EDUCATION BRAINSTORM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the words ‘Higher educational institution’. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.
Ex.7. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations with each word.
Ex.8. WRITING: Write a Welcome Letter for the annual scientific students conference.
Ex.9. COMPUTER PRESENTATION: Make a computer presentation on RCA.
Ex.10. SPEAKING: Speak on the topic.
GRAMMAR REVISION
Ex.1. REPORTED SPEECH: Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.
1. He said, "I like this song."
He said ______________
2. "Where is your sister?" she asked me.
She asked me ___________
3. "I don't speak Italian," she said.
She said _____________
4. "Say hello to Jim," they said.
They asked me ___________
5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he said.
He said ____________
6. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.
She told the boys ______________
7. "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.
She asked him ______________
8. "I never make mistakes," he said.
He said __________________
9. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.
He wanted to know _________________
10. "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.
The stuntman advised the audience _______________
WORKING ON THE ARTICLE
The Russia Experience
by: Niranjan Chandrashekhar Cheriyamane
About the author: The author is an officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) of 2008 batch. He is presently posted as Assistant Comissioner in Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate in Delhi. The views expressed by him in the article are his personal views. He visited RCA in 2011.
It was a rare privilege to be one among the five officers of the 2008 Batch, nominated to attend the 12-day Training Programme on “Customs Examination and related issues” in the Russian Customs Academy (RCA), Lubertsy, Moscow. The programme was in exchange to a similar visit to NACEN in March 2011 by five trainees of the RCA, pursuant to a 2006 MoU between the two apex training institutions on co-operation in capacity building and annual exchange of trainees.
The RCA stint was truly enriching and I returned a wiser man – professionally sounder and intellectually healthier. I, in this Article, have made an attempt to bring forth the essence of my RCA tenure, with special reference to the professional aspect of it, although cultural visits and cultural exchange were an important component of the RCA schedule. Because, above all, true justice to knowledge can only be done when knowledge is shared.
Fundamental difference in the nature and character of our Academies, i.e., NACEN vis-à-vis RCA: Student aspirants who choose to make Customs a career option seek admission to the RCA after their High School(Class X). The age bracket at entry is between 16-18 years. It is University for them, a 5-year Graduate Programme, a professional education-one could say. Marks/Grading in High School determine entry to RCA, unlike the competitive entry in India. Admissions are open to students from across the Russian Federation, with some seats earmarked for aspirants from the CIS countries also.
The RCA has three other Branches at Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don and St.Petersburg, the three cardinal points of the Russian mainland.
There are three broad streams of specialization in RCA:
(i) Customs Administration/Business (with Customs Assessment and
(ii) Customs Control/Prevention as components)
(ii) (Customs) Law
(iii) Economics
The RCA, Moscow has a total of around 3,000 students. The graduates have an option to pursue their own private practise. However, about 90% of the graduates do join the Federal Customs Service of Russia (FCSR). Some opt for post-graduation and doctoral studies and continue at the Academy for longer. 90% of the top management at RCA are retired Armed Forces or Paramilitary officers, who are rehabilitated here after their pensionable service. It may be noted here that with Russia’s vast land and sea frontiers and its dwindling male population, all men are obliged to compulsorily serve in the Army for one year.
Armed Forces officers are held in high regard by the State and still wield considerable clout in the higher echelons of the Russian administration. No wonder they run the show in the FCSR and the RCA as well.
Quality of training at RCA and lessons for NACEN: The training regimen at RCA is rigorous, technology-intensive and of a highly professional nature. It comprises of regular project work, assignments and surprise Tests. The students are always on their toes. The performance in the assignments and surprise Tests are reflected in the overall grading. The final six-months of the 5-year graduate programme is dedicated to Project work, where the students are on their own and are free to visit any field Customs Station relevant to their Project. The performance in the Project work assignment has a heavy bearing on the final marks/grading.
During the basic 5-year programme, apart from the academic Customs subjects, related disciplines such as History of Art, History of Science and Philosophy are taught. When asked about their relevance from one of the students, I was impressed to hear that knowledge of ‘History of Art’ enables the Customs officer to appreciate the quality and cultural significance of an object of Art; its vintage and artistic worth; and its originality or otherwise - thereby enabling in assessing its genuineness and market value.
‘Commodity expertise’, for instance, is a specialization within the ‘Customs Administration’ arm. This set of officers specialize in HSN classification of goods and ‘Laboratory Analysis’ is a predominant component of their training curriculum. We visited one of the Laboratories where a practical session was in progress and young turks there claimed they were ‘the best of the best!’. That is the pride they take in their chosen field of work, truly worthy of emulation.
The Russian Customs has state-of-the-art equipment and cutting edge technology deployed in its field stations, and almost all of these equipment are installed in the RCA laboratories for hands-on training.
The RCA, realized the significance of English in global communication, has compulsory English language training in the first two years of the 5-year programme. Perhaps, NACEN could take a leaf out of the RCA book and have one non-English Foreign Language in its curriculum as well. Also, the RCA is mature as an institution and has specialised Departments, including the “Department for International Co-operation” – which was dealing with us. NACEN could also evolve along these lines.
Overview of the Federal Customs Service of Russia and lessons for
Indian Customs: The FCSR is as much a border-control agency as is a revenue generator. In fact, at Airports, the Customs window is designated “Customs and Border Control”. Being a maturing economy, revenue generation is still the first priority. However, given Russia’s long borders, the Customs doubles up as a second layer of defence. Customs Control(Preventive) is a crucial and indispensable arm of the Customs machinery and is considered a prestigious posting and held in high regard. For this very purpose, the FCSR has its own dedicated Canine Service, with 1200 fully trained Sniffer Dogs deployed in active field service. Being a nuclear state with an ever looming possibility of smuggling out of nuclear material and technology, Russian Customs has deployed Radioactivity detection Scanners at its major Airports (including at the Domododevo International Airport, which we visited). With our exclusive focus on revenue-generation in India, we could also learn a lesson or two from the Russian disposition. Like Russia, India too has long land and sea borders, is geo-strategically situated and is surrounded by security-sensitive neighbors. In my opinion, our focus on Customs Control and Prevention has been rather inadequate.
An interesting fact about Russian Customs is that unlike India, Russia duties Exports also; and close to 60% of the Federal Customs revenue is realized through Export duties. In spite of the huge volume of trade and the fact that both exports and imports attract duty, I was surprised to note that there was single window clearance facility of Air Cargo/Unaccompanied Baggage at the Domododevo Airport. There was neither our Group-system nor the Export-Import bifurcation.
Policy-level initiatives that could be emulated: Russia has formed a Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, whereby the Russian Customs border extends to the State borders of Belarus and Kazakhstan. There are no Customs borders for either Control/Prevention or for movement of merchandise between Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan. This is an economic integration exercise and trade-facilitation measure, which India could adopt in the South Asian context.
Broad appraisal of the Visit and the Russian experience: As I had mentioned at the very outset, the Programme was as much an exercise in Cultural Exchange as it was a Professional one.
(i) We visited quite a few Russian cultural and historical sites, including the Red Square, the Moscow Kremlin, ages-old Russian Orthodox Churches, St. Petersburg, the Lavra(Monastery) at SergeivPosad and State Art Galleries and Museums of high cultural significance for the Russians.
Among the lessons learnt was that there has been a conscious effort made by the Russian state to inculcate in its people a strong sense of one-ness as a nation and imbibe in the citizens a deep-rooted appreciation and love of Russian history and the Russian cultural and artistic legacy. This effort is made through the many state-sponsored Art galleries and Museums which celebrate the work and achievements of Russian artistic geniuses-from painters to sculptors to poets, and the Russian historical icons-from the Czars to the Soviet war heroes.
As a matter of fact, Russian literature is a compulsory subject in the curriculum of the formative years of education. As a result, even a moderately educated Russian has a fair knowledge of Russian history, art and architecture.
In NACEN, we could make an attempt to inculcate this culture of awareness of our achievements in the field of art by including in the curriculum compulsory visits to all the Delhi-based National Art Galleries and Museums. And even a Quiz on it, perhaps.
Russians celebrate their dance forms, ballet being the most popular of them all. Our visit to one of Moscow’s well known Soviet-era theatres to witness a performance of the celebrated “Swan Lake”,was a unique experience. NACEN could also organize performances by noted Indian classical dancers and musicians so that interest in traditional Indian music and dance could be inspired in the Probationers.
(ii) The RCA atmosphere is that of a college, full of students with happy-go-lucky attitude. They have regular cultural programmes and competitions in their state-of-the-art auditorium (one of which we participated in). We were quite impressed with the talent pool and creativity of the RCA students. They were evidence that work and play perfectly complement each other. They were playful and professional, in equal measure.
The energy and creativity of the young RCA trainees actually makes one think that we in India should seriously consider lowering the age-limit for the Civil Services. The RCA experience makes a strong case for a younger Civil Services aspirant profile. Youth certainly brings with it a generous dose of freshness and a spirit of adventure.
(iii) Russians exude a great deal of warmth towards Indians, the reasons being our deep-rooted historical and cultural engagement. This love towards the Indian people is all the more palpable in the government officers from the Soviet-era, given their closer understanding and appreciation of India-USSR relations. They remember the likes of Pandit Nehru, Mrs.Indira Gandhi and Raj Kapoor with great love and admiration. This recognition of the historical Indo-Russian friendship is not so evident in the new, post-1991 generation. If the love and warmth of the Soviet times is to persist, India has to consciously and vigorously engage the new generation in Russia on the cultural front, with greater promotion of people-people exchanges.Till this happens, one can only hope that the young Russian of today imbibes some of this warm sentiment from the Soviet veterans.
(iv) Historically, all great cities have been centred around river banks. Rivers add a great of aesthetic value to the cityscape. The Neva flows through St.Petersburg and the Moskva through Moscow. These two rivers have been kept pollution-free and are neatly embanked. They lend great beauty and glamour to both these historical cities. Delhi too has the fortune of the Yamuna, but we have done nothing whatsoever to clean, nurture and beautify this historical river. We are throwing away a natural and aesthetic advantage we have in terms of the Yamuna in Delhi and many more such rivers in other Indian cities.
Suggestions for the future: There exists for us a high scope for learning in the technical sphere. Indian Customs officers could be trained in Russia in the deployment and use of field equipment. We may even buy Russian technological know-how and field equipment as these, we were told, are more rugged and much less expensive than their European/American analogues. Only that Russia lacks the marketing skills of the West!
An exchange programme for middle-level officers (with the FCSR) would be even more beneficial. The student exchange entails very few visits to field formations. An exchange of officers at the middle-level would better equip them to meet field requirements and exigencies at home, learning from the Russian experience.
In fact, Russian Customs is a near-perfect place to learn Customs Control/Prevention given their vast experience in Narcotics and counterfeit goods trafficking.
The Conclusion: In perspective, the Customs services of our two countries have a lot to learn from each other’s experiences and mutually benefit by their sharing. In this regard, NACEN’s initiative in signing of an MoU with the Russian Customs is a progressive and forward-looking step. The partnership between the two apex Customs training Academies so forged is bound to strengthen and grow in the years to come. I, for one, am proud to be among the pioneers in this project.
No words of gratitude and appreciation would do justice to the help, direction and guidance provided by Shri Balaji Majumdar, First Secretary (Trade), Embassy of India, Moscow during our Russia visit. The warmth that he exuded and the hospitality which he extended will forever be associated with the memories of our RCA visit.
TASKS FOR THE ARTICLE
Ex.1. READING: Read and translate the article.
Ex.2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the text and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
Ex.3. VOCABULARY: Circle the words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
Ex.4. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations with each word.
Ex.5. CHAT: Discuss with your classmates the key ideas of the text.
Ex.6. ARTICLE ANALYSIS: Analize the veracity of this article information. Are there any mistakes? Correct them if any.
Ex. 7 . SUMMARY: Write a Summary of the article.
Ex. 8 . INTERNET SEARCH: Find in the Internet the additional information on the NACEN. Share your findings with your classmates.
Ex. 9 . PUBLIC POLICY: You are the Head of the RCA International department. Create a list of initiatives directed to the improvement of NACEN and RCA of International Co-operation activities.
Ex.10. ARTICLE RENDERING: Render this article.
Unit XIII
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