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- In favor of precision: there will be fewer lawyers, journalists and managers in universities
In favor of precision: there will be fewer lawyers, journalists and managers in universities
The issue of the quality of graduation of "commercial" students is acute today and requires regulation by the state. In 2026, paid admission to universities should follow new rules. This task was set by President Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Council on Science and Education. The new order is likely to be known not earlier than January 20 next year. Next year on paid programs in favor of STEM-specialties, most likely, will be reduced enrollment in political science, media communications, law, management, economics. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
"So that the training did not degenerate into profanation"
The Ministry of Education and Science of Russia does not share the allegations that the system of higher education has recently experienced a crisis, but see an urgent need to correct the imbalance between the number of applicants entering the economic and legal specialties on a commercial basis, and the real needs of the labor market. According to the Ministry, out of 4.5 million students, 1.2 million, i.e. about 27%, study economics and law, 86% of them on a fee basis.
- We proceed from the fact that paid education should also be aimed at solving the problems facing the state and society," the ministry's press service told Izvestia. - In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia is working on the issue of authorizing the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia to coordinate the paid admission plans of universities regardless of their departmental affiliation.
In addition, today more than a third of educational credits are issued for paid training in economic and legal specialties. The Cabinet of Ministers believes that the preferential educational credit at the rate of 3% should be granted only to those entering priority specialties, primarily engineering.
The new order of admission on a fee basis will be known not earlier than January 20, 2026, reported in the Siberian Federal University (SFU).
- The purpose is logical and clear: the number of students that the university intends to train should be adequate to the number of teachers and material base, so that training does not degenerate into profanation, - points out the rector of SFU Maxim Rumyantsev.
And if the volume of budget enrollment is regulated by the RF Ministry of Education and Science and the region itself, the number of fee-paying students was until recently set directly by the university, explains the interlocutor. He believes that "most universities take a reasonable approach to this issue, as their reputation is at stake.
- But fixed frameworks ultimately work to improve the national education system," Rumyantsev said.
- From 2026, the number of paid places in state universities is likely to remain at the same level or change insignificantly," said Yulia Malevich, vice-rector for the organization of the educational process at St. Petersburg State University. - However, it is expected that the number of paid places will be reduced in priority areas of training, defined by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
Ekaterina Zorinova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the European University in St. Petersburg, says that the reform will affect both public and private universities. According to her, from the 2026 academic year, enrollment in educational programs will most likely take place under the new model, and the levels of education and terms will change.
Diploma in installments
The problem of low quality of paid higher education lies in the "overheated" demand for it, believes Denis Kuzmin, Director of the MIPT School of Biological and Medical Physics (FBMF). At the same time, he admits that it is not education that is often in demand, but a diploma as a confirmation of status or a deferment from the army.
- It is the request for a "crust" rather than knowledge that gives rise to the corresponding offers," he says. - There is even a well-established meme in the professional environment - "diploma by installments". Often the cost of educational programs in such universities can be significantly lower than the funds that the state allocates to the university for training a budget student of the same program.
And this, according to him, is the main problem - if a student "does not pay extra" for his education, it means that a budget student pays extra for him, and therefore the quality of his training suffers: the university is forced to hire cheaper teachers, save on the development of laboratory infrastructure, etc. Thus, less quality education will be received not only by the one who came for "crusts", but also by his classmate who was aimed at gaining knowledge and quick entry into the profession. The second layer of this problem is covered by the undermined reputation of the university: an employer who has had a negative experience of interaction with fee-paying students from a certain university extrapolates its attitude to all its graduates.
The issue of the quality of graduation of "commercial" students is acute today and requires certain regulation by the state, Denis Kuzmin notes.
- As strange as it may seem, one way out of this situation is to raise the price of education for those applicants who did not qualify for the budget," says Kuzmin. - At least to the level of the state's costs for training a budget student in a particular program. In addition to the fact that the university will stop saving money on student training, it will also reduce the demand for study at the university among poorly prepared applicants.
Yulia Malevich, vice-rector for the organization of the educational process of St. Petersburg State University, explains that the optimization of paid admission to state universities is not related to reducing the number of paid places, but to streamlining the admission process. Previously, universities could increase the number of paid places during the admission campaign at the request of applicants. Now the ministry has established rules according to which universities must announce the number of paid places in advance, at least five months before the date of admission, and cannot increase them in the process. This forces universities to plan more responsibly, taking into account their resources, infrastructure and teaching staff.
Vice-rector Ekaterina Zorinova believes that the reform of education in state universities has a connection with the growing interest in studying in secondary vocational education (SVE) programs. They have a fairly large number of budget places, especially in technical specialties, and offer a more practice-oriented model. Specialists with this level of education are now in high demand in the labor market, she notes.
- Studying under the SPO programs is cheaper than under the HE program, moreover, it often simplifies the possibility of getting higher education in the future," the vice-rector says. - We face a situation when the increased interest in colleges draws away some of the potential entrants who could have entered universities after the 11th grade.
Inexpensive destinations
Irina Abankina, chief researcher of the Institute of Education at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, expert of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, points out that many universities now realize that paid education is in demand primarily in "inexpensive" areas of training (economists, lawyers, humanitarian sector). And today even technical universities make such programs affordable, because they do not require serious laboratory equipment.
- Of course, many programs are of very low quality, and students from schools with low USE scores go to them (and they do not choose complex physics or biology), - says Irina Abankina. - The only exception is medical schools. Technical specialties even in technical universities have a low share - no more than 20%. At the same time, the segment of paid education has grown in IT specialties.
According to her, in 2026, political science, media communications, journalism, some humanities subjects, and economics are likely to be reduced. But there may be a problem of non-enrollment of those who are oriented to paid education, she believes.
The problem of shortage of technical specialists with higher education is typical for all developed countries, not only for Russia. Countries are making a variety of decisions aimed at expanding the flow to universities and technical schools in STEM specialties, reducing the number of those who transferred to other programs and retaining them in jobs, says Ayrat Satdykov, Deputy Director of the Research and Education Center for Educational Development at the Higher School of Education of the Presidential Academy.
Maxim Fyodorov, Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Education magazine, states that, in general, rectors of Russian universities took the news about the forthcoming revision of approaches to paid admission positively.
- Although I believe that not everyone is enthusiastic about it," he says. - Data from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Higher School of Economics show that many parents have invested and will continue to invest serious money in their children's education. At the same time, the priorities of dads and moms do not always coincide with those of the state.
And if this is the case, he suggests, a conflict of interests may arise, including financial ones: state universities will be forced to limit commercial admission to specialties popular with students but unpopular with employers, and thus lose revenue, without which it is difficult to develop infrastructure and maintain a first-class faculty.
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