International Policy
Fellow, 2002
Presentation
of the Issue
As
the base institution for the research the leading in
The
composition of students has undergone rather profound changes in recent
time. First of all, regarding the geographical and social origin of applicants.
During the Soviets the whole number of students enrolled was comprised
almost proportionally of young people from cities and from country folk,
of different social strata. Now about 87% of applicants and students are
from region center and nearby cities, and those who are enrolled almost
entirely (92%) come of the white collar families (see the Table
attached). The reasons for this situation are rather simple and complicated
at once. First of all – the quality of primary education and competitive
ability of graduates from the country schools are very low nowadays. That
is due to the chronic shortage of qualified and young teachers there, it
is not unusual when certain disciplines are not taught at those schools
at all.Naturally, when it comes to
the competition of entrance these graduates fail every now and then. And
when they fail due to their knowledge, they fail also due to their ability
to enter by fee, because the living standard in the country is incredibly
low and their families just can not afford to pay for Higher Education.
Neither can the worker families in cities. And it is the problem, from
the one hand these young people lack their competitive ability (doesn't
matter that it is not their fault, generally speaking), and from the other
hand there is obvious inequality of access to the Higher Education in
Scope
of the Problem
The
recent history and the current situation on the topic in question are presented
in the following chart.
The
number and social-geographical origin of applicants and students of the
Source:
The records of the Admission Department of the
|
Year
|
Plan
of enrollment
|
Number
of applications
|
Number
of enrolled
|
||||||||
|
General
number
|
From
|
From
the other regions and the country (%)
|
From
the white collar families (%)
|
From
the families of workers and farmers (%)
|
General
number
|
From
and
nearby cities (%)
|
From
the other regions and the country (%)
|
From
the white collar families (%)
|
From
the families of workers and farmers (%)
|
||
|
1992
|
850
|
2320
|
55
|
45
|
56
|
44
|
860
|
60
|
40
|
57
|
43
|
|
1994
|
830
|
2200
|
57
|
43
|
60
|
40
|
800
|
63
|
37
|
63
|
37
|
|
1996
|
900
|
2560
|
67
|
33
|
58
|
42
|
920
|
72
|
28
|
75
|
25
|
|
1998
|
1200
|
3250
|
76
|
24
|
62
|
38
|
1210
|
80
|
20
|
77
|
23
|
|
2000
|
1260
|
3320
|
80
|
20
|
64
|
36
|
1260
|
83
|
17
|
85
|
15
|
|
2001
|
1280
|
3450
|
86
|
14
|
68
|
32
|
1280
|
87
|
13
|
92
|
8
|
It
is obvious that the number of young people from the families of workers
and farmers who wish to obtain the higher education have not decreased
significantly, especially in comparison with the figure of applicants from
the other regions and the country. What is decreased dramatically is the
number of those belonging to this social stratum who is enrolled finally.These
people are still eager to enter the University, but their chances are more
and more illusory.Sure thing, this
situation depends very much on the overall economic circumstances in today's
Russia, but if the Government declares "thebroadening
of the access of the citizens of the Russian Federation toHigher
Education, and inadmissibility of reduction of those students who are paid
with the Federal Budget", it should accomplish this task in a proper way.
Consultations
I
have conducted two rounds of the expert interview, with the University
officials (vice-rectors, deans, heads of departments and chairs) and with
the officials from the Committee on Higher Education and Science of the
Irkutsk Region Administration.
The
experts were asked the following questions: How do they apprehend the current
situation with the social-geographic peculiarities of applicants and students?
How do they apprehend the acting Law on Professional and Higher Education
of the Russian Federation? What means do they consider as the most
suitable for the improving of the inequality of access to Higher Education?
What the outcomes (political, financial, cultural) could such means entail
should they are adapted? How do they respond to the idea of reinstatement
of the practice of direct assignment of graduates? What kind of outcomes
could it entail?
The
results. The majority of experts expressed a deep anxiety about the situation
that has formed in the University regarding the practice of enrollment
and social characteristics of applicants and students. It is not a normal
situation, with their words, and something should be done in order to bring
the country folk as well as the people from the worker families back in
the
Options
for Consideration and Recommendations
Conditions:
1)
Necessity of the public awareness.
2)
Necessity of initiatives from the side of both University management and
public forces, such as NGOs, think tanks, prominent people.
3)
Necessity of amendments to the Law on Professional and Higher Education
of the
Possible
means:
1)
To guarantee special attention and preference to applicants from the country
and from the worker/farmer families. The most attractive means to accomplish
that is to restore the practice of so called "worker faculties", which
were established throughout the
2)
To improve the quality of primary education in the country is possible
through the special policy regarding the life circumstances of the young
specialists, teachers, first of all, in the village. There should be special
guarantees and perquisites from the side of local and federal Governments
to recent graduates of Universities in order to attract them in the country.
Otherwise, the gradual moral and physical degradation of the village folk
will continue.
At
first sight, this policy in both its dimensions will require a considerable
amount of funding. But after careful consideration it proves that spending
is not going to be rather dramatic. Federal and local governments could
accomplish that by common efforts, providing the joint funding. The last
should be directed for payment of the University teachers who will train
and prepare the would-be-applicants during one year before their actual
competition, - this is smallest part, - and for ensuring of the decent
salary and live conditions for those graduates, who agreed to go to the
village. The benefits for the last category could include also the possibility
to purchase an apartment (what is still a great, almost insoluble problem)
in a nearby city, or regional center with the significant discount provided
by the local government (there was such a practice during the Soviet period,
when many people were eager to work for several years at the North of Russia,
to endure the severe living conditions there because of the Governmental
guarantees that they after certain period will be provided with an opportunity
to get an apartment, to purchase an expensive car, and simply because the
salary at the North was very good).Why
do not restore, to the extent, this Soviet practice in a modest scope,
with all necessary corrections bearing in mind the new social and economic
circumstances in
Implementation
Issues
The
proposed course of action will certainly require the legislative changes.
First of all, in a part of implementation of the acting Law
on Professional and Higher education of the
Communications
Analysis
The
key contentious issues here are as following. 1. To ensure that in the
course of implementation of the policy of guarantees and preferences to
the certain social strata the other social groups will not suffer, and
their right to Higher Education will not be restricted; 2) To convince
the Government officials, state and private business in a necessity to
direct the extra funding in the sphere of Higher School, because it is
the question of national survival, no more, no less.
These
issues can be managed, first of all, with the creation of a strong public
support, and with the involving of broad public circles into discussion
on the topic in question. As a matter of fact, the proposal relates directly
to the Government reform priorities. These days the wide discussion on
the problems of Higher Education and direction of reforms here is going
on in this country, though, mainly in the academic circles.