The Ministry of Education and Science is thinking about increasing the prestige of targeted training

The head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov called targeted admission to universities “not attractive enough for applicants with high scores,” illustrating with data on the average Unified State Exam score for applicants to pedagogical and medical fields within the framework of targeted admission and the general competition. The press service of the Ministry of Education and Science, however, assured that there are specialties where target students have a higher average score than other applicants. “Kommersant” learned from representatives of the university community and potential employers whether the target students are really weaker than those entering the general competition and how the situation can be corrected.

On Friday, at a meeting in the State Duma on the implementation of a new mechanism for targeted training of personnel, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, described targeted admission to universities as not attractive enough for applicants with high scores earned in the state exam. “For example, in pedagogical specialties in 2023, the average USE scores for the target place are 64.35, which is almost 4.5 points lower than in the general competition. According to the general competition – 68.99. And if you look at doctors, there is a difference of more than 7 points. The average Unified State Exam scores for the general competition are 77.03, and for the target set – 69.39,” the minister noted.

The press service of the Ministry of Education, to which pedagogical universities are subordinate, recalled that pedagogical education is in the top not only for targeted programs: “Over the past three years, these areas have reached the top 3 in popularity among applicants, and at the end of 2023 they took second place. This affects the quality of admission, average scores increase, and competition increases.” The department added that all innovative projects aimed at strengthening the professional training of teachers affect “including those applicants who enroll as part of targeted training,” so regardless of Unified State Exam scores, students receive high-quality knowledge.

The Ministry of Education and Science, where Kommersant turned for details, repeated the thesis that the competition for places within the target quota is indeed slightly less than within the general competition, and therefore the passing score is lower. However, the department also drew attention to exceptions: “For predominantly engineering and technical specialties, the average score is sometimes higher than in the general competition (for example, the areas “Testing of Aircraft”, “Ship Weapons”, “Optotechnics”, “Applied Hydrometeorology” )”. The Ministry of Education and Science noted that they are taking a number of measures to improve the quality of admission to targeted training: “In particular, all customers (employers— “Kommersant”) for targeted training, starting from the admissions campaign of the 2024/25 academic year, proposals containing requirements for candidates will be required to be posted on the Unified Digital Platform “Work in Russia”. You can respond to such an announcement through the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services or by directly contacting the customer.”

“Enrollment under a target quota is traditionally considered by applicants with low Unified State Examination scores as a way to bypass the competition,” notes Nikolai Rogalev, rector of the National Research University MPEI, but adds that at MPEI the situation is the opposite. “A number of our partner companies work to prepare future target students in schools,” explains the rector, “so the passing score for the admission quota for targeted training is higher than for the general competition.” Separately, Mr. Rogalev recalled that the motivation for strong graduates will always be a guaranteed high salary and benefits package.

Rector of the Moscow State Pedagogical University (MPGU) Alexey Lubkov confirms that in 2023, the average Unified State Exam score of target students in undergraduate studies was 71.4, which is 4.2 points lower than that of those enrolled on a general basis (75.6). However, this is not due to the fact that less prepared applicants enroll in targeted training, the rector is sure. Mr. Lubkov sees the reasons in the need for applicants to independently look for a customer to conclude an agreement on targeted training. “Moreover, potential customers, as a rule, cannot guarantee the target’s employment in 4–6 years and, fearing penalties, are reluctant to agree to sign an agreement,” he notes.

The press service of RUDN University said that the average target admission score in 2023 was 76.25. However, in “Foreign Regional Studies” the lowest average score of the target student was 92 points. At the same time, in the “Chemistry” direction, where the average score of the general competition was 88.38, applicants with an average Unified State Examination score of 63.67 points were able to get into the target direction.

“Although targeted training is effective for filling certain areas of the economy with personnel, such a system limits the student’s right to choose a place of work after graduation,” says Vladimir Stroev, rector of the State University of Management. He notes that target students, although they may have a lower entrance score, do not always study worse at the university itself, because “they value their place, the assigned scholarship and the customer’s opinion about their successes and achievements.”

The press service of the Moscow Polytechnic University is confident that the described situation “is not perceived as a problem, since the customer organization approaches the selection of students responsibly: applicants are interviewed by a potential employer, who checks information in addition to Unified State Exam scores.” The popularity of targeted education, as noted at the Polytechnic, can be increased through career guidance events and a detailed explanation to school graduates of the benefits that target students receive when entering a university and after graduation.

Corporations interested in admitting targeted students are themselves developing measures to attract strong students to partner targeted programs. Rostec HR Director Yulia Tsvetkova (the state corporation implements three targeted educational and professional tracks in 16 universities in Russia) notes that “applicants are admitted to targeted programs on the basis of an integral indicator, which includes seven selection criteria, the weight of the total Unified State Examination score is only 50 %”. “Strong school graduates are interested in targeted training if there is added value to standard education at universities,” Ms. Tsvetkova is confident. “Targeted students of Rostec are provided with corporate social support, and upon completion of training, graduates are guaranteed employment and are provided with an expanded social package with a housing program and non-state pension provision”.

The head of the SIBUR Corporate University, Rustam Galiakhmetov, notes that targeted training helps to quickly go from a school graduate to a sought-after specialist. “We have been working for a long time to increase interest and the level of knowledge in the subjects necessary for SIBUR (chemistry, physics, mathematics) at the level of the cities where our enterprises are located. We hold a number of events for schoolchildren of different ages, their parents and teachers: scientific festivals and school camps, and we provide career guidance,” says Mr. Galiakhmetov. All this, in his opinion, “allows schoolchildren, whom we consider as potential employees, to pass the Unified State Exam well, and allows us to interest promising children in opportunities to work in the company.”

Polina Yachmennikova