| |
Russian universities get economics
lesson
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - At the height of the Cold War, Soviet
universities and colleges opened their doors for
thousands of young people from Asia and other Third
World nations. Then the goal was to train them as future
revolutionary cadres. These days, Russian education
institutions are still keen to lure foreign students.
But now the goal is to earn badly needed cash.
In China, there are still many alumni of Russian
universities among the high-ranking officials, so it is
not surprising that Russian universities have been keen
to tap China's huge education market by attracting
students.
And Chinese government officials tend
to support educational exchanges. For instance, Vice
Premier Li Lanqing traveled to Russia from July 15-20
for talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Valentina
Matviyenko during a session of the bilateral Cooperation
Committee on Education, Health, Culture and Sports.
On July 18, Li and Matviyenko reportedly
discussed setting up joint universities and launching an
Internet portal to promote bilateral cooperation in
education. "China aims at boosting bilateral ties in
education," Li was quoted as saying. Li and Matviyenko
also agreed to support Chinese studies in Russia and
Russian studies in China.
At the moment, there
are some 70,000 foreign students in Russia. No official
statistics are available on how many young Chinese now
study in Russia, while unofficial estimates vary
anywhere between 2,000 and 8,000.
Russian
universities could become a cheaper alternative for
those Chinese students who want to study overseas but
cannot afford leading Western campuses, argues Oleg
Ostroukhov, deputy head of the Moscow-based Euro-Asian
Center of International Education. However, he told Asia
Times Online that although Russian education could sound
appealing for students from Chinese provinces, young
people from major urban centers would rather go to the
West.
Most domestic students at many Russian
universities rely on government-funded tuition,
receiving education free of charge, somewhat reminiscent
of the Soviet era. Russia's universities receive roughly
a third of their budgets from the government, while the
remainder comes mainly from student tuition fees, which
run to about US$2,000 a year for international students.
However, some universities are better
recognized. Subsequently, tuition at the Moscow State
University, or MSU, varies between $2,500 and $6,500 a
year. The cost of accommodation at hostels, as well as
transport and food, is also relatively cheap, which
gives the MSU a competitive advantage over Western
universities.
Yet despite the low costs of
living and education in Russia, the quality of both is
not always up to international standards. Moreover,
foreign students face other hurdles, notably rampant
crime.
For instance, earlier this month Russian
representatives in the Indian city of Mumbai warned of
dubious agents who promised assistance for admissions
into premier Russian institutes. Earlier this year, 80
mainly Indian students in a colleges near Moscow were
expelled because their agents had forged their documents
and had them admitted directly into a senior class.
These agents prey on the nearly 1,000 students
from India seeking admission to Russian universities
every year. The agents apparently even target students
who are already enrolled in campuses in Russia's
provincial towns and who want to switch to a more
reputed university in a major urban center.
There is also the problem of racist attacks on
foreign students, which have a bad impact on Russia's
education system and the image of the country. At a
conference organized by Russia's Education Ministry last
April, representatives of Russian universities announced
that they had to employ security guards and form
self-defense teams to protect their foreign students
from nationalist violence.
According to the
officials of Moscow's Peoples' Friendship University,
also known as Lumumba University, they allocate 7
million rubles (US$240,000) a year for hiring private
guards. Currently, 200 guards patrol the dormitories and
classes where 3,700 foreign students live and study.
For instance, last March about 20 students from
Africa, Asia and Latin America studying at Rostov
Medical University, southern Russia, decided to leave
the country because of regular attacks and harassment by
local racists.
According to the Foreign
Students' Association in Russia, facing police
indifference in some universities, foreign students
decided to create self-defense units armed with sticks
that guard their hostels. According to the association,
more than 100 foreigners, including many students, were
assaulted by skinheads in Moscow alone this year, and
four victims died.
However, despite domestic
pains, Russian universities are joining forces in a
drive to tap new foreign markets and find paying
students. The MSU, teaming with other universities, has
attended education exhibitions in Beijing and launched
an information center at Beijing University.
So
while the universities are keen to lure paying Asian
students, they are struggling against the problems of
maintaining their reputation for high academic standards
and in protecting foreign students from racist violence.
(©2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights
reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com
for information on our sales and syndication policies.)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
