Moscow Universities See Record Admissions Competition Amid Wartime Quotas and Budget Cuts – The Moscow Times

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High school graduates will face higher competition for tuition-free university spots in Moscow this academic year, state mediareportedThursday, as paid seats are being eliminated while military quotas expand

According to data compiled by the state-run TASS news agency, competition for so-called “budget spots” rose by double digits across major institutions including Moscow State University, the Higher School of Economics and the Russian State University for the Humanities

Up to 257 applications per spot were recorded for International Relations at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, while the average spot at the university had 34 applications

MSU saw total applications for budget spots jump 46% to more than 91,000. 

HSE saw an average of 44 applicants per budget spot this admissions cycle, up from 32 last year

Average competition at the Russian State University for the Humanities grew 22% to 167 applications per spot

The surge comes amid increasing tuition fees and the wartime requirement for Russian universities to reserve at least 10% of their tuition-free spots for soldiers who fought in Ukraine and their children. 

The number of students admitted into Russian universities under the quota hasnearly doubledsince the invasion of Ukraine, and reached arecord41,000 this year

At the same time, the government began regulating the number of fee-paying university places, eliminating 47,000 of them nationwide

The Kremlin has pushed to reduce university enrollment in favor of vocational training, with public high schools redirecting teenagers into trade colleges to address industrial labor shortages

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FeatureRussia has increasingly turned to universities as a fresh source of recruits as enlistment numbers dwindle and war casualties soar.

An advisory on travel was reportedly sent out a month after Polish police arrested Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin.

The move follows Rosobrnadzor’s decision last month to strip accreditation from several of Shaninka’s degree programs.

Education officials say the move is aimed at curbing an oversupply of graduates in around 40 fields with low demand.

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Source: www.themoscowtimes.com