Education in Russia may become like under Stalin: the Constitution will have to be changed

The news of a widespread increase in the cost of paid higher education in Russia starting next year has excited citizens. The heads of several large private educational institutions spoke publicly about this recently. True, then it was said in unison that nothing like this was planned. At least not centrally. But in general, individual educational institutions will, of course, be able to adjust the cost of education within the limits of inflation. So what to believe?

Of course, this is not the time to rouse people with such unpopular measures. Now it’s closer to the Unified State Exam, when there will be nowhere to go, and the elections will be held…

Meanwhile, it is strange that the increase in prices for a commercial “tower” was announced as some kind of sensation. And that the next day, as soon as the noise arose, they immediately began to say that nothing like that would happen.

The same rectors of commercial universities probably did not understand why they were accused of lying. They confirmed what everyone already knows.

Because the cost of paid education in Russia is already indexed annually by 10–15%.

Equipment, software licenses, housing and communal services, finally, are becoming more expensive. Teachers’ salaries are also rising. Who should pay for all this? Naturally, the students themselves. Or rather, their parents.

There is no reason why the 2024/25 academic year will be any different from the previous one, when in some educational institutions price tags soared by a quarter.

“According to the rules, there is a minimum price. This is the minimum that a university should spend to provide quality education. But there are no restrictions on the highest level,” the rector of one of the private universities told MK on condition of anonymity. “It’s just that no one wants to risk too sharp an increase, since there is competition for every student.” This is a necessary measure. Therefore, they increase everything little by little. 40,000 per year is the minimum cost for private owners. The university can do less, but then it must provide a report on how it will pay off the difference. State paid education is even more expensive, for example, medical residency in some hospitals costs 800,000 for two years, but there is no free education. So think about who can afford to send their children to medical school.”

Once upon a time, the Unified State Exam was introduced so that talented children from the provinces could easily enter a Moscow university. Now the Unified Exam really makes no sense. Because the cost of a year at top metropolitan universities is approaching half a million. And life in Moscow is becoming more expensive all the time.

Well, what new Lomonosov will now go to the capital from the Arkhangelsk village with a convoy? How will he live here?

Budget quotas are occupied by Olympiad athletes and benefit recipients of all stripes; even high-scoring students can sometimes only count on a “scarf.” Especially those in the humanities, who are frankly not needed now.

When they boast that the number of budget places is increasing, they are talking primarily about specialties that the economy requires, and therefore the authorities are ready to compensate for their training. So that in the future – and this has also been stated – as in Soviet times, to force graduates to work off the funds invested in the student according to the distribution.

There is no free cheese. As well as free education.

Yes, there are a lot of vacancies in Russia now, which is why unemployment is at the lowest level. But these are not vacancies for bank directors. We need mechanics, turners, machinists, drivers…

Based on the logic of events, in the coming years everything will be done to ensure that people strive not to go to institutes with universities, but to colleges for working specialties.

Increasing tuition fees is one way to cut out all the extra ones. Last year, by the way, they whispered that it would be a good idea to make high schools fee-paying as well. Representatives of the elite Izborsk Club, which includes many politicians and economists who call themselves patriots of Russia, discussed in their magazine in November the prospects of introducing paid education in Russian schools as a “fatal inevitability.” According to the authors of the article, universal free school education is the path to raising “infants and idlers.” But if you introduce a fee, then parents will “cultivate legal capacity and the dynastic principle.” After all, they will “always (!) pay for their children,” tightening their belts.

Yes, for this it will be necessary to change the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the current Federal Law “On Education”, but, in fact, there are no special problems with this. There would be a desire. This was already introduced under Stalin and was abolished only under Khrushchev in 1956. People just have a short memory for bad things.

It is naive to believe that by cutting all other social expenses, someone will shell out for such an elite thing as knowledge. This means there will be no social elevators either.

Born into a family of janitors, he came in handy there.

Moreover, there are not enough wipers either…