College students in Russia will halve in 3-4 years

Updated on: Monday, January 04, 2010

Moscow: The number of secondary school graduates in Russia may halve to 700,000 by 2012, Russian Education and Science Minister Andrei Fursenko has said. There were 1.3 million secondary school graduates in 2006, he noted.

'We not so much select best pupils as seek anyone to study at higher educational establishments. The demographic situation is taking a catastrophic turn for the worse. In fact, the number of college students in Russia will halve in three or four years,' he said on the Ekho Moskvy radio.

'It is very hard to select best students for higher educational establishments under such circumstances. The shortage of students cuts teachers' jobs,' Fursenko said. Only 15-20 per cent of Russian college students are really interested in studies. The rate is 30 per cent at best schools, he said.

'We must understand that modern students have a slightly different motivation. Higher education was accessible to a limited number of people in the past, and modern schools admit apt pupils and those who wish to delay a lifetime choice,' the minister said.

College students in Russia will halve in 3-4 years

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