This year SMSUH has won the project of the University strategic development state support. The three-year development programme of the University includes 26 projects. What kind of programme is it? What are the projects aimed at? How will the University change in 3 years?
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nechaev, rector of SMSUH, Doctor of Politics answered these and other questions.
Background. The 1990s’ model of "overall higher education"
In the 1990s, there was a rather specific model of higher education in Russia: the state could not provide the adequate financing of educational institutions, including the institutions of higher education, though the state gave universities a lot of low-paid state-funded places and allowed to enroll un-budgetary students in return.
The authorities acted this way not only to keep many universities afloat in the absence of state funding, but also to engage numerous young people who finished school in the 90s, those were generations born in the late 70's and mid 80's. Meanwhile work positions ran short in a recession of the 90s.
The model called overall higher education was formed this way in Russia. At present, Russia ranks second in the number of students per thousand people in this age group after the United States. However, in the U.S. it is due to the relatively high level of public or private funding of universities and, accordingly, to the high quality of education.
In Russia, due to the specific situation of the 90s, mentioned above, many people studied, but the funds for education were awfully small, and as a consequence the quality of education decreased. The situation got worse by the lack of teachers, low salaries, little money for research. Without these points higher education loses its essence, and universities can be compared to technical secondary schools.
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