Инвестиции в образование

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of Russia’s public expenditure in the sphere of higher education. Recently it has been described as the lowest in Europe, with Russia spending less on higher education than every developed state and even less than many developing economies. An examination of public expenditure on education in Russia (as a percentage of the GDP) in comparison with various societies clearly shows that Russia has fallen behind the European and even global average. According to the federal Ministry of Education and Science, expenditure per student has been rising for a number of years. But across Russia’s regions and institutions, the expenditure gap is huge. In almost half state universities, extrabudgetary sources account for over 50% of their total annual budget. Many university charter signatories (in Russia, these are often federal or regional ministries) provide only 25 to 50% of the university’s budget. The disproportion is clear and conspicuous. In order to develop an education system which would fully match the challenges of the 21st century, Russia should increase education’s share in the expenditure section of the GDP. Private expenses on education account for 1.2 — 1.5% of GDP, half of which is wasted on bribes and presents. Statistics for recent years has shown that hoping for families to help increase total expenses on education is quite futile. The ratio of average monthly wages to the cost of tuition, if we take law, economy and humanities and social sciences in general, at the moment stands at 1:4 (or even up to 1:15 at the most prestigious universities). Tuition costs are thus incomparable to average monthly wages, which makes higher education in Russia less and less affordable — a trend that runs counter to global practices and Russia’s constitution. It is both necessary and socially justified to provide educational services at prices affordable for the majority of potential consumers, while preserving its quality at the highest possible level.