Education System in Russia
Russia has a long-standing tradition in high-quality education for all citizens. It probably has also one of the best mass-education systems in the world producing a literacy rate (98%) exceeding most Western European countries. Education is split into a compulsory Basic Education, and ongoing Higher Education.
About five-six million students attend Russia's institutions of higher education. As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is generally of a high level. Nowadays, the country has 1304 higher education institutions both in state and private sectors, all of these having state accreditation.
History of education in Russia
Russia's higher education system started with the foundation of the universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the middle of the 18th century. The system was constructed similar to that of Germany. In Soviet times all of the population in Russia had at least a secondary education. The pursuit of higher education was and still is considered to be very prestigious. More than 50% of people have a higher education.
Due in great part to demands of the international educational organizations, the system of education in Russia began to change over the past four to five years. Universities began transitioning to a system similar to that of Britain and the USA: 4 years for the Bachelor's degree and 2 years for a Master's degree. The universities are still in the process of these changes; some of them offer the new system and others still work according to the prior 5-year system, particularly in programs such as law.
Reform of the education system
The Russian education system was originally inherited from the Soviet Union without any significant changes. In the Soviet Union, education of all levels was free for anybody who could pass entrance exams; students were provided with small scholarships and free housing. This was considered crucial because it provided access to higher education to all skilled students, as opposed to only those who could afford it. Free higher education is the main reason why more than 20% of Russians age 30–59 hold six-year degrees (this number is twice as high as that of the United States). The downside of that system was that institutions had to be funded entirely from the federal and regional budgets; therefore, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, expenditures on education took a big blow; institutions found themselves unable to provide adequate teachers' salaries, students' scholarships, and maintenance for their facilities. To address the issue, many state institutions started to open commercial positions. The number of those positions has been growing steadily since then. Many private higher education institutions have emerged, mostly in the fields where Soviet system was inadequate or was unable to provide enough specialists for post-Soviet realities, such as economics, business/management, and law. In 2004, of all first-year students, 35% were paying for their own education in state institutions and 20% were enrolled in private universities.
In the recent years there have been a lot of proposals for restructuring the Russian educational system in accordance with the U.S. educational system.
Nevertheless, these proposals have not been approved.
Accreditation of schools
In Russia school accreditation/national recognition is directly overseen by the Education Ministry of Russia. Since 1981, Russia has followed the UNESCO international regulations to ensure Russian institutions and international institutions meet high quality standards. It is illegal for a school to operate without government approval.
Undergraduate and graduate levels
After finishing secondary school and obtaining a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education a student can go on to a University or an Institute. A student can choose a program of higher education leading to various degrees. There are three different degrees that are conferred by Russian universities: The first degree is the Bachelor degree. Bachelor 's programmes last for at least 4 years of full-time university-level study. The programmes are designed in accordance with the State Educational Standards which regulate almost 80% of their content. The other 20% are elaborated by the university itself. The programmes include professional and special courses in Science, the Humanities and Social-economic disciplines, professional training, completion of a research paper/project and passing State final exams. The Bachelor's degree is awarded in all fields except Medicine after defending a Diploma project prepared under the guidance of a supervisor and passing the final exams. In Medicine, the first stage lasts for six years.
Holders of the Bachelor’s degree are admitted to apply for the Specialist Diploma and Master's degree programmes. The Master's degree is awarded after successful completion of two years' full-time study. Students must carry out a year of research including practice and prepare and defend a thesis which constitutes an original contribution and sit for final examinations.
Bachelor's and Master's degrees were introduced relatively recently; they didn’t exist during the Soviet period.