No more need for a diploma? Why school graduates do not want to enter universities

One in five (21%) intend to go to college. Why is higher education losing its attractiveness among young people?

Irina Mishina

The distribution of interests of current graduates is interesting. According to the study, specialties related to information technology are chosen by 26% of graduates, 16% - medical universities, 11% are going to study for engineers, 7% for economists, 5% each want to be teachers, military men and managers, lawyers and designers - 4% each, philologists and journalists - 2% each. The question is where to learn all this?

The pandemic, lower wages and incomes have made it an unaffordable luxury for many families to race for high USE scores with the help of tutors and paid courses. The increased tuition fees in universities forced many parents to reconsider their plans. Judge for yourself: in 2021, studying at Moscow State University costs from 241,250 to 404,437 rubles. per year, at the Moscow State University of International Relations - from 489,000 to 567,480 rubles. per year, at the Moscow Conservatory - 539 thousand rubles. per year, at the Russian National Medical University. Pirogov - from 260 to 337 thousand rubles per year; Bauman - from 270,119 to 313,059 rubles. in year.

The number of budget places is decreasing every year. The largest share of the "budget" in universities has recently been allocated to engineering specialties. But it is quite difficult to study in technical faculties. Preparation for admission takes a lot of effort and money. And after graduation, there is no big prospect: after all, we are not creating new engineering design bureaus now, the number of operating enterprises with production can be counted on one hand. Therefore, many families feel that it is necessary to choose practice-oriented training programs that do not require large investments.

“Now there are completely different requirements. For 4 years of study at the institute, a lot changes, skills become obsolete, young people enter the labor market, divorced from reality. We are trying to solve the problem of earlier entry into the labor market by attracting young people to colleges, this is only 2 years of study plus professional skills. The world is now considering shorter ways to enter the labor market, this is a modern trend with more and more advantages, ”says Irina Abankina, head of the Institute for Education Development at the Higher School of Economics.

“When finding a job, less and less attention is paid to a diploma, more and more to work experience. Contemporary Russian capitalism has a barbaric attitude towards the work of young people. I remember that in 1970, when I started working, after graduation from the institute, I was paid a scholarship for 2 months, plus I received my first salary in advance at the school where I came to work. Things are different now. I know young people who have a diploma and cannot get a job anywhere. Either they have a probationary period without a paycheck, or they are forced to change jobs. Free labor of young specialists is, apparently, a feature of the wild capitalism of labor with not guaranteed wages, " Oleg Smolin, first deputy of the State Duma Education Committee, told NI.

One way or another, the number of students in Russia is decreasing every year. In the USSR, there were 220 students per 10 thousand of the population, now there are less than 130 students per 10 thousand of the population. The drop in income levels, which began in 2014, makes paid education inaccessible, so many refuse to study for purely material reasons.

Colleges are in great demand this year for another reason. In the context of a pandemic and "distance learning", education in universities has lost its former meaning. A particularly difficult situation has developed among nonresidents: hostels are closed, renting an apartment is problematic and expensive, and studying at home using a computer and paying hundreds of thousands a year for it is a dubious pleasure. In these conditions, colleges have been able to offer more favorable terms. Firstly, they are located not only in large, but also in small and medium-sized cities, that is, in most cases, there is no need to move anywhere. Second, they are more accessible and offer a shorter course of study. Third, colleges are associated with an employer. And finally, colleges mean savings: you need to pay less for education, the amounts are quite acceptable: an average of 30-50 thousand rubles a year, and not 150 thousand as the minimum price for universities. As a result, in some regions more than half of school graduates go to secondary vocational education. For example, in the Krasnodar Territory - 56%. Many children in the Caucasian republics after grades 9 and 11 go to colleges to get a profession. Someone then continues their studies at the university, but only after they understand why they need it.

“The college program is more practice-oriented than the university program - up to 50% of the study time is devoted to it. This means that there will be an opportunity to work in different places, look at the employer and show yourself. It is easier for college graduates to find work - they are expected at the place of practice. Many students find part-time work already during their studies and can support themselves on their own, ”says career guidance specialist Daria Zotova.

“It used to be that colleges graduated mainly from hairdressers, chefs and builders. Today college graduates are designers, IT specialists, stylists, and producers. You can get "crusts" of some professions only in college: an auto mechanic, a hairdresser, a pastry chef, a welder, a metrologist, a make-up artist, a florist ... And you don't have to painfully prepare for the exam, you can go to college on the basis of a certificate. Moreover, college is not far from home, you don't have to break away from your family and live in a hostel. Military service - yes, but only a year. And you can go to university after college. In addition, many institutes and universities have colleges with them, "says Irina Abankina, head of the Institute for the Development of Education at the Higher School of Economics.

And the most important thing in secondary vocational education is the opportunity for choice for the youngest person. It is no secret that the choice of a university is most often the choice of parents, not children. According to the stories of teachers, it often happens like this: having entered the university, many young people suddenly understand - "Not mine!" But there are no longer any escape routes. The result is apathy and wasted time.

“I asked fellow teachers: assess how many people in your academic groups, where you teach, firstly, are motivated to study, that is, they want to learn, and, secondly, they are able and able to learn. In 99.9% of cases, teachers said: 1-2-3 students from the group. On average, of the total number of students, only 15% of students have motivation and readiness to learn, ”says teacher, professor Semyon Davydovich Reznik, who has been studying higher education for many years.

All this does not mean that they teach worse in universities. Higher education provides a chance to gain deep fundamental knowledge. The question is in their application and relevance.

“Nevertheless, I believe that those 43% of young people who decided to enter universities made the right decision. General statistics show that higher education increases the chances of finding a job; those who have higher education have higher salaries in the future. People with higher education are also more likely to be employed at a pre-retirement age, according to the HSE. There is another important factor: people with higher education live longer. This is also statistics, ”said Oleg Smolin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's education committee.

Time will tell what are the prospects for higher education in Russia. But today the reality is as follows: accordingto the Ministry of Education, about 60% of school graduates choose college for further education, and not a university. This is a lot, considering that in the early 2000s only 30% of graduates wanted to get a secondary vocational education. At least one conclusion can be drawn from this: the system of Russian higher education is waiting for changes.