Students of the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of Moscow Pedagogical University (MPGU) were asked to register on Max messenger, threatening that otherwise they would not be able to access their university degree in “state services,” the Telegram channel “Caution, News” reported, referring to the students themselves.
From the screenshots of correspondence provided by “Caution, News”, it also follows that all educational operations are transferred to Max.
In addition, the Telegram channel publishes an order from the Ministry of Education dated February 13 – allegedly sent by an employee of the dean’s office. In it, the department obliges institute directors and deans “in order to implement and use Max Messenger” to organize meetings for students “with a conversation about using the messenger” and to submit a report on these meetings.
The administration of Moscow State Pedagogical University denies requiring students to enroll in the correspondence program under the threat of not issuing certificates. The university told RIA Novosti: “The information regarding students’ forced use of the national Max instant messaging program and the negative consequences of refusing to use it is incorrect.”
Since its introduction, Max messenger has been actively promoted among employees of budgetary institutions and in educational institutions – schools and universities. Parent conversations and home conversations are transferred to Max, where the educational process takes place, homework is given, and teachers are forced to report student recordings in the messenger. On March 10, the Max press service reported that the daily audience of the messenger had reached 70 million people, and that a total of 100 million users were registered.