40 budget places in universities in. Science and education in Russia are facing massive layoffs. Lawyers and linguists are needed less than engineers. Demand for artists is stable

The Russian government wants to carry out large-scale optimization in the field of science and education. According to the plan, 40% of budget places in universities, student scholarships and more than 10 thousand research employees will be cut.

The problem is the lack of money from the Ministry of Education and Science, writes Gazeta.ru. The department proposed such a plan in response to the reduction in budget allocations for the state programs “Development of Education” and “Development of Science and Technology” by the Ministry of Finance. The optimization program was discussed on July 29 at a budget meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The publication recalls that on July 7, the government decided to freeze total budget expenditures in nominal terms for 2017–2019 at the level of 15.78 trillion rubles. in year. For education and science, this means that incomes will actually decrease. For the Development of Education program, the reduction began last year, and continued in 2016; in the fall, funding will be reduced by 11.5%. In 2017, the state program will be reduced by another 23.4%, in 2018 the sequestration will be 28.5%, in 2019 – 35.2%. As a result, by 2019 the share of education expenditures from the general state budget will be reduced from 2.75% to 2.45%.

And the lack of funding for the second program, “Development of Science and Technology,” confronts the government with the need to carry out large-scale cuts among scientists. In the general budget, spending on science will be reduced from 0.98% in 2015 to 0.87% in 2019. Because of this, up to 500 people will be fired at Russian universities next year. The Ministry of Education and Science also proposes to dismiss 8.3 thousand research employees of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations by 2019. Also next year, 1.5 employees of the Kurchatov Institute will lose their jobs.

In addition to people, the department will cut scientific research and projects to develop the scientific and technical base. In addition, subsidies for government assignments to educational institutions at all levels will be reduced.

In addition to secondary schools, the Education Development program also finances children's centers and preschool institutions. As Gazeta.ru writes, even the priority areas of past years will be affected by a wave of layoffs and cuts. Thus, funding for the Artek camp will be noticeably reduced: funding per child here will decrease from 53.8 thousand rubles to 30.7 thousand in 2017, and by 2019 - to 21.4 thousand rubles.

Insufficient amounts of money will be allocated for the WorldSkills championships, writes Gazeta.ru. Although, there is an increase in funding over three years: from 3.6 billion rubles in 2017 to 10.5 billion in 2019.

According to the publication, at a meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, the Ministry of Education and Science tried to defend the cuts and demanded that expenses be increased beyond the limits. According to the department, in 2017-2019 education will require an additional 891.6 billion rubles. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance reduced the financing plan for the coming years by 486.2 billion rubles.

Science will require an additional 209.2 billion rubles in the next three years, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science noted at the meeting. In this amount, the department also takes into account additional costs for maintaining public higher education and student scholarships. However, additional funds are still needed for the development of Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, the Higher School of Economics, Crimean and Sevastopol Universities - 16.9 billion rubles, the department believes.

Salary indexation until 2019 will cost an additional 119.7 billion rubles, otherwise Vladimir Putin’s task to raise teachers’ salaries will have to be forgotten.

Despite the discussion between the financial and scientific departments, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted that optimization is still necessary. According to him, it is necessary to direct funds to priority areas and reduce ineffective spending. As Gazeta.ru reports, citing a source, Medvedev called on the departments to once again try to agree on a plan for financing and cuts in the scientific and educational segment.

Budget allocations for the state programs “Development of Education” and “Development of Science and Technology” were discussed at the budget meeting with the Prime Minister on July 29. The government approved general approaches to optimizing state programs, including those controlled by the Ministry of Education and Science, at a meeting on July 7. At the same time, it was decided to freeze total budget expenditures in nominal terms for 2017-2019 at the level of 15.78 trillion rubles. in year.

In the case of education and science, the general decision to freeze expenses means a real reduction in expenses provided for by the passports of these two state programs, as follows from the department’s documents for the meeting with the Prime Minister, which Gazeta.Ru was able to review. The state program “Development of Education” was underfunded last year and should be reduced by 11.5% of its nominal value in 2016. Reductions may be recorded during the autumn optimization of the current budget. In 2017, the sequestration of the educational program will amount to 23.4% of the program passport. It will continue in 2018: expenses will be reduced by 28.5% and by 35.2% in 2019. The share of education expenditures in total budget expenditures will fall from 2.75% in 2015 to 2.45% in 2019, the ministry reports.

The need for large-scale layoffs among scientists was also announced at the meeting. The reason is the same - lack of funds for the state program “Development of Science and Technology”. The share of the scientific state program in total budget expenditures will decrease from 0.98% in 2015 to 0.87% in 2019. Therefore, in 2017, it is proposed to dismiss up to 500 people from universities. Large losses are planned in and.

He proposes to remove 8.3 thousand scientific employees from the payroll by 2019 (3.5 thousand people may be fired in 2017). At the Kurchatov Institute, the department is preparing to dismiss 1.5 thousand people next year.

Together with scientists, scientific research and activities to develop the scientific and technical base will be reduced. Not only students, their teachers and scientists will suffer. The Ministry of Education and Science insists that the limits approved in July will require a proportional reduction in subsidies for state assignments to educational institutions at all levels.

Even priority projects of past years turned out to be unprotected - for example, the Artek children's camp. Children's centers, preschool and secondary education are also financed from the state program "Development of Education". Documents from the Ministry of Education and Science report that the funding standard per child at Artek will have to be reduced in 2017 from 53.8 thousand to 30.7 thousand rubles. In 2019, this standard will be reduced to 21.4 thousand rubles.

Little money was allocated for the preparation of the WorldSkills championships. The Ministry of Finance has allocated 200.8 million rubles for this purpose. in year. According to calculations by the Ministry of Education and Science, supporting interest in blue-collar professions, introducing an independent qualification system and basic vocational training centers cost 3.6 billion rubles. in 2017, 4.8 billion in 2018 and 10.5 billion rubles. — in 2019.

At the budget meeting, the department tried not only to defend the cuts, but also demanded that expenses above the limits be doubled. The additional need for money from the completed budget allocations for 2017-2019 under the state program for the development of education amounted to 891.6 billion rubles. For the three-year period, the Ministry of Finance reduced the program passport by 486.2 billion rubles. It is proposed to increase spending beyond the limits by another 209.2 billion rubles for the development of science. for three years. The ministry has not allocated additional expenses for maintaining budget-funded higher education and student scholarships as a separate item. But additional funding is required, including for the development of St. Petersburg State University, Crimean and Sevastopol universities. It is proposed to allocate 16.9 billion rubles to these universities. for three years in excess of approved expenses.

Indexation of salaries for teaching staff will cost more - 119.7 billion rubles. additional expenses from 2017 to 2019. Otherwise, the presidential task of increasing the salary of this category of public sector employees to 200% of the regional average will not be achieved, according to the department’s documents.

The amount allocated for postgraduate scholarships is half the required level, the materials say.

The tactics of intimidation at the meeting with the prime minister did not bring results, government sources familiar with the discussion told Gazeta.Ru. In the open part, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted that in “the current conditions it will be necessary to optimize expenses by redistributing funds to the most important areas and reducing ineffective spending.”

The Prime Minister emphasized that “such optimization cannot be allowed to have a negative impact on socially significant programs, on the positive changes that have occurred in this area in recent years.” Behind closed doors, Dmitry Medvedev suggested that the meeting participants make another independent attempt to reconcile differences with the Ministry of Finance, the source says.

Higher education in Russia will undergo a slight modernization in the near future. More precisely, the Ministry of Education decided to cut the number of budget places in most universities throughout the country. What came out of all this in the end? Let's discuss.

Basic information

Not long ago, information appeared in the media that several large higher educational institutions in the Black Earth Region lost a significant number of budget places. Today it is known that changes in the status of student admission have affected Oryol State University, Tambov and Lipetsk Technical Universities. The government of the listed universities is at a loss, because we are talking about financing a number of technical specialties and master’s degrees. In addition, the demand for graduates from these institutions increases annually among local enterprises. What is the reason for this decision of officials? Why were such undesirable changes needed now, and who else was affected by the reduction of budget places in universities for 2019-2020?

Basic information

This year, the Ministry of Education transmitted new data to universities of the Russian Federation regarding quotas for next year’s admissions campaign. The result is a reduction in the number of budget places by 10%. According to the rector of Leningrad State Technical University, the enrollment of applicants to the university in 2018-2019 is 1.18 thousand places, while next year this mark will drop to 1 thousand positions. At the same time, the reduction affected not only the humanitarian areas of education. Places were also cut in technical areas, the main ones for the university. Such, for example, as mechanical engineering. It is important to note that the mentioned industry is considered very important for the region, and has been actively developing in recent years, and therefore the need for appropriate personnel is quite logical. Needless to say that specialists in mechanical engineering are now in great demand?!

A possible reason for such an unprecedented government decision is the optimization of government funding by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. But in reality, not only the number of budget places allocated to the university, but also its own income will be significantly reduced. Most of the funds go to the “treasury” of universities as a reward for fulfilling the task set by the state - attracting and training students on a budgetary basis.

So far, the majority of university places that were cut in 2019 are in master’s programs. According to the rectors, these are very serious changes, because this level of education is the next step towards graduate school, where the personnel required by the educational institutions themselves are trained. The result is that the reduction of places in this direction will sooner or later affect the work of the teachers themselves.

Oryol State University had to face a similar problem, which in 2016 acquired the status of a flagship university in the region. According to OSU Rector Olga Pilipenko, the reduction in places at the university was only 5%. First of all, the cuts affected construction specialties, which in recent years have ceased to be in significant demand. The economic and legal sectors also came under the modernization of higher education, although within the framework of reasonable optimization. According to the leadership of OSU, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation will never implement such solutions without strict monitoring of the needs of the labor market.

Tambov Technical University also lost some of its budget places, mostly in the master's program. The changes of 2019 affected jurisprudence, while in fact the number of budget places upon admission increased.

Previously, the largest university in the region, Voronezh University, also faced the problem of reducing budget places. Even this year, the institution has not received a single state place in several disciplines, for example, in the Faculty of Journalism.

Educational reality

Based on the approved order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated January of this year, the number of budget places in universities for the 2019-2020 academic year will be 549,478, while now this mark is 601,169 places. The state provides the largest number of places for the bachelor's program - 312,440. 77,110 places are allocated for specialists, while for master's programs - 128,848. The reason for this decision is the global decrease in funding for master's programs (by almost 40%).

What the future reality of obtaining free higher education in Russia will be is still unknown, but, according to analysts, similar solutions will force modern students to be more diligent in their own education. It is possible that soon free education at universities will be provided only to the best.

The government wants to cut 40% of budget places in universities in 2017 from the level established for this year. The Ministry of Education and Science does not have enough money to pay for the admission of first-year students. The lack of funds in the budget will also lead to a reduction in student scholarships. Finally, as a result of budget optimization, by 2019, 10.3 thousand research workers at universities, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Kurchatov Institute will remain unemployed. The position of the Ministry of Education and Science was formulated in response to the Ministry of Finance’s reduction of budget allocations for the state programs “Development of Education” and “Development of Science and Technology” and was discussed at a budget meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on July 29. The government approved general approaches to optimizing state programs, including those controlled by the Ministry of Education and Science, at a meeting on July 7. At the same time, it was decided to freeze total budget expenditures in nominal terms for 2017-2019 at the level of 15.78 trillion rubles. in year.

In the case of education and science, the general decision to freeze expenses means a real reduction in expenses provided for by the passports of these two state programs, it follows from the department’s documents for the meeting with the Prime Minister, which Gazeta.Ru was able to get acquainted with. The state program “Development of Education” was underfunded last year and should be reduced by 11.5% of its nominal value in 2016. Reductions may be recorded during the autumn optimization of the current budget. In 2017, the sequestration of the educational program will amount to 23.4% of the program passport. It will continue in 2018: expenses will be reduced by 28.5% and by 35.2% in 2019. The share of education expenditures in total budget expenditures will fall from 2.75% in 2015 to 2.45% in 2019, the ministry reports.

The need for large-scale layoffs among scientists was also announced at the meeting. The reason is the same - lack of funds for the state program “Development of Science and Technology”. The share of the scientific state program in total budget expenditures will decrease from 0.98% in 2015 to 0.87% in 2019. Therefore, in 2017, it is proposed to dismiss up to 500 people from universities. Large losses are planned at the Academy of Sciences and the Kurchatov Institute.

The Ministry of Education and Science proposes to remove 8.3 thousand scientific employees from the salary list of FANO by 2019 (3.5 thousand people may be fired in 2017). At the Kurchatov Institute, the department is preparing to dismiss 1.5 thousand people next year. Together with scientists, scientific research and activities to develop the scientific and technical base will be reduced. Not only students, their teachers and scientists will suffer. The Ministry of Education and Science insists that the limits approved in July will require a proportional reduction in subsidies for state assignments to educational institutions at all levels.

The amount allocated for postgraduate scholarships is half the required level, the materials say.

The tactics of intimidation at the meeting with the prime minister did not bring results, government sources familiar with the discussion told Gazeta.Ru. In the open part, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted that in “the current conditions it will be necessary to optimize expenses by redistributing funds to the most important areas and reducing ineffective spending.”

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education Oleg Smolin (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) told RBC that the government’s proposal was not discussed in his committee. All over the world, budget places are calculated not on the principle of per 10 thousand youth, but per 10 thousand population, he says. In the USSR, on average there were 220 students per 10 thousand population. In the 1995 education law, this formula was “at least 170 students per 10 thousand population,” that is, a third less than in the USSR, but then there was an economic crisis. In the new law on education (from 2012), the government changed the calculation formula from 10 thousand population to 10 thousand youth from 17 to 30 years old.

“Later it turned out that, taking into account the demographic situation, by 2020 there will be 700 thousand fewer budget students, and for every 10 thousand student population there will be 125 people left. And if the Ministry of Finance’s proposal is implemented, the ratio will generally be less than 120 students per 10 thousand population,” explains Smolin. At the same time, the government is actively closing non-state universities, the deputy recalls. “Where and how will students study then? This is a big question,” the deputy says indignantly.

The ineffective ones will be cut

The document posted on the Ministry of Finance website explains the reform as “changing demographics,” although the proposed cuts would make free higher education less accessible regardless of the total population at a given age. As Deputy Minister of Finance Airat Farrakhov told RBC, other prerequisites “for considering this measure” were “the need to implement state policy to increase the attractiveness of secondary vocational education and assess the results of employment in the specialty of university graduates who studied in budget places.”

The Ministry of Finance proposes to compensate for the reduction in the number of budget places by “simultaneously completing the formation of an effective system for issuing educational loans to applicants and students, motivating them to acquire a profession.”

“Considering that we have only 25% of the middle class that could pay for education, I am skeptical about the reduction of state-funded places,” says HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov.

However, he admits that while about a quarter of budget places “provide training in areas that do not have a labor market in the regions, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, or are of profanely low quality, the Ministry of Finance probably has the right to offer this.” According to him, if universities can ensure the transition to applied bachelor's degrees in these unnecessary areas of higher education over the next few years, then this proposal will be wrong.

The Ministry of Finance did not answer RBC's question about the expected budget savings from this measure. According to the standards, the state allocates 62 thousand rubles for the training of one bachelor in the humanities. per year, technically - approximately 115 thousand rubles. per year, studying a master’s degree costs about twice as much, Tatyana Abankina, professor at the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics, explained to RBC. In addition, there are a number of coefficients for remote universities in Siberia and the Far East and individual specialties, which increase the cost of training by 2-3 times. According to her, the coefficients apply to about a third of specialties.

The reduction is unlikely to affect leading universities - we are talking about a reduction in places in universities that are in the “red zone” in terms of the quality of admission, Kuzminov suggests. Earlier this week, he estimated that in the coming years, 20-25% of Russia's regional universities could be merged into multidisciplinary flagship universities.

This follows from the program announced by the Ministry of Education and Science to unite regional universities of various jurisdictions into one multidisciplinary “core” in its subject with the allocation of funding until 2020. As Minister Dmitry Livanov said, over 20 educational institutions in the regions are already potentially ready to take part in it.

According to Kuzminov, the reduction in the number of budget places may continue. According to him, President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with activists of the Russian Union of Rectors, proposed increasing the level of entrance requirements, eliminating the possibility of admission to universities with Unified State Examination results below 55 points. “Now this order of the president has not been implemented, but if it comes true, then there will be even fewer, about 650 budget-funded places for 10 thousand people,” he estimates.