Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, said that our country should start the procedure of withdrawal from the Bologna process and develop its own system of training graduates. How relevant is the next reform of higher education today? And has the introduction of Western standards really lowered the level of graduates of domestic universities?
According to Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University, the shortcomings of the Bologna process are obvious. For example, most of the state order for training future engineers today is carried out at the expense of bachelor's degree programmes. However, there is little demand for students who received their diplomas after 4 years of study. Business does not need them, as they do not possess the competences necessary for successful and relatively quick adaptation in production. Masters, in their turn, are in no hurry to go to work at enterprises.
"Young people who go to study at the Master's programme link their future, first of all, with science or teaching. This is our golden fund, as we need talented scientists and teachers who are able to move university science forward, obtain new fundamental knowledge, and train personnel. The management of the Mining University makes every effort to motivate students to build a career in this direction. The market is in demand for graduates of the specialised course, who have studied for five and a half years and managed to obtain all the knowledge and skills necessary for work in the real sector of the economy, including practical training," Litvinenko explained.
He stressed that St. Petersburg Mining University has retained the classical programmes of training engineers. Moreover, over the last few years, the number of budget places for applicants wishing to obtain a specialist's diploma after graduating from mining or oil and gas faculties has increased significantly.
"Our country joined the Bologna process in 2003, after which domestic higher education was divided into two levels - bachelor's and master's degrees. This was done ostensibly to integrate Russia into a single European educational space. And recognition of our diplomas abroad, primarily in the EU and the USA. However, nothing of the sort happened, although our Western partners had plenty of time to keep their promise. Moreover, the abandonment of the classical system of personnel training, which proved its full validity during the Soviet Union, has led to a drop in the quality of graduates and a shortage of qualified engineers. The conclusion is obvious: there are all prerequisites for modernising the system. And we have been talking about it for 19 years since its introduction," reminded the Rector of the Mining University.
At the same time, as Vladimir Litvinenko pointed out, it is not advisable to completely break the system and aim at an instant exit from the Bologna process. At the first stage it is necessary to recognise specialisation as a priority form of higher education for technical universities rather than the only one. Then it is necessary to conduct a thorough monitoring of the needs of the state, business and the scientific and educational community, and only after that, on the basis of a completely transparent system of decision-making, to develop flexible and understandable standards for all stakeholders.
"Any revolutionary actions may have a negative impact on some of our universities, many of which have long adapted to the existing standards. Their abrupt change, even if well-intentioned, can be painful for higher education institutions. Our goal is to find the optimal paradigm of evolutionary development," summarised Litvinenko.
Among the tasks that the Bologna Process has achieved, he mentioned the growth of academic mobility and unification of curricula. Despite this, many countries, including the UK, Germany and Finland, have adopted autonomous educational models similar to the classical Soviet training system.