The size of the state scholarship for students today is 2,819 rubles. Even taking into account the additional payments for those who study "excellent" and "good", and they amount to 50% and 25% of the basic rate, respectively, these funds are not enough even for food.
Obviously, when entering university, young men and women rely primarily on the support of their parents. But what should a young man do if his family for one reason or another cannot or does not want to provide him with material support?
Obviously, to look for a part-time job, sacrificing studies, skipping classes and accumulating "tails". As a result, the names of such guys end up on the lists for expulsion, and they themselves - facing a difficult choice: a diploma of higher education in the future or cash in their pockets now.
The majority, of course, stop at the first option, but there are also those who, waving goodbye to the prospects, rushes into swimming on the turbulent waves of business. But it is quite possible that among these people there are talents like Lomonosov or Kapitsa, who would certainly have said a new word in science and technology, if it were not for their poor financial situation.
The question of who should (and whether in principle) be responsible for keeping talented students motivated to study, including through monetary incentives - the state, potential employers, universities themselves - is one of the most pressing ones. Discussions on this topic are constantly fading and rekindling, but they never come to their logical conclusion, i.e. they do not give an exhaustive answer.
Rector of the Baltic Federal University Alexander Fedorov has recently added oil to the fire. He was not afraid of "being unpopular" and outlined his vision of the problem:
"How to live on a scholarship? I'll answer honestly: you can't. It is not a salary, but a bonus from the state. It is not expected that the scholarship will cover all your expenses. Obtaining higher education is not an obligation, it is a privilege. And not everyone needs it according to objective indicators.
So it turns out that the son of a shoe-maker is doomed to follow in his father's footsteps? And what about the notorious social lifts? It is obvious that the most accessible of them should be higher school, which a priori acts as a springboard for successful career growth.
"You know, there can't be two opinions. Accessibility of higher education for capable school graduates, the opportunity to start studying at university is the most important factor contributing to the development of modern knowledge economy. Society has a lot to lose if material conditions do not allow a young person to realise his or her potential. We are doing everything possible so that capable young men and women can become good engineers," Mikhail Gordin, Rector of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, disagreed with his colleague.
He specified that the university has a system of financial support for students, including both academic and social scholarships, the amount of which starts from 4 thousand rubles and can reach 19 thousand. In addition, students from socially disadvantaged groups are reimbursed half of the cost of living in hostels, once a year they pay their way home and back, as well as receive financial aid. Ultimately, however, the outcome still depends on the young person himself.
"In our opinion, successful study requires not only material resources, but also basic knowledge, the ability to study, sufficient motivation and self-discipline. You need to attend classes, do homework, write term papers, prepare for exams. The result will not be today and tomorrow, understanding the value of higher education comes after several years. After all, in addition to professional competences, in higher education one acquires a broad outlook, the ability to acquire new knowledge, and a higher cultural level. Future employers play a big role here. If an industrial company wants to have good engineers, it is necessary to start getting to know them already in the first, or at least in the second year, to tell and show them what they will be doing in a few years' time," says Mikhail Gordin
Magomed Mintsayev, rector of the Grozny State Oil Technical University named after Academician Millionshchikov, is also convinced that "higher education should be accessible to everyone." Moreover, universities should motivate, including financially, talented young people from socially disadvantaged groups.
"We implement a number of programmes aimed at supporting students identified as needy. For example, they receive targeted financial assistance to pay for dormitory accommodation. Guys from the first and second years of bachelor's and speciality courses, who study at the expense of the federal budget and have grades "good" and "excellent", are assigned a monthly increased state social scholarship in the amount of more than 10 thousand rubles", - said Magomed Mintsayev.
Roman Kuchin, Rector of Ugra State University, expressed a similar point of view. In his opinion, the availability of education is "a key factor in the development of the individual and society as a whole, as it contributes to the discovery of human potential and further building a strategy for achieving life goals".
"The most important thing is that students, regardless of their financial well-being, understand already at the initial courses: the university has created all conditions for their self-realisation and determination of their career trajectory. For example, there is an opportunity to undergo paid internships, receive corporate scholarships, and upon graduation to take a specific position with a specific employer. This approach will not only clearly demonstrate to young people that higher education is a real springboard to future success, but will also make them better prepared to work in real conditions and give them the opportunity to successfully compete in the labour market. This is exactly the strategy we are implementing at Ugra State University," Roman Kuchin emphasised.
Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University is one of the six participants of the pilot project to improve the higher education system, which was initiated by President Vladimir Putin. Its main goal is to improve the quality of training for the real sector of the economy, where there is an acute shortage of engineers. If we weed out everyone who at this stage of life is unable to provide for themselves, it is unlikely that the problem will be reduced.
"Higher education cannot and should not be the prerogative of the elites. Moreover, it is not only about the moral and ethical principles, which are inherent in the mission of universities, which should be engaged, among other things, in the humanisation of society. There are also quite pragmatic reasons. One of them is the acute shortage of engineers at enterprises. Our industry, including the mining and processing sectors, needs young specialists who are psychologically ready to work in production after graduation. If we exclude talented but socially unprotected young people from the process of their training, who will go to work as bartenders or waiters instead of universities, we will never be able to cope with the task of intensifying economic growth. We are an industrialised country, and our obvious advantage is our huge resource potential. But in order to realise it, we need competent personnel and technologies," Vladimir Litvinenko is sure.
He says that the main task of the higher education institution is to create a comfortable academic environment of trust, which will allow everyone, without exception, to take advantage of the opportunities provided. This is not only material support, but also the use of progressive educational methods, virtual and augmented reality technologies in the learning process, the availability of modern laboratory equipment, the availability of comfortable dormitories, qualified teaching staff, and so on.
"Reasonable competition is the engine of progress. If a student does not show due diligence, is not ready to accumulate knowledge and skills that will make him/her a sought-after specialist, he/she will a priori lose this competition. And it will be won by hard-working and purposeful young people. We encourage such young people, including financially. For example, we pay them an additional monthly scholarship, and not only for academic success, but also for regular attendance, participation in research activities, sports achievements and community work. This is an additional motivation," says Vladimir Litvinenko.
One of the programmes aimed at attracting talents from the regions, regardless of the financial situation of their families, is called School Leader. Its essence is that schoolchildren in the 11th grade can sign an agreement with Mining University on their intention to become its students. Those of them who achieve the necessary score in the USE (not lower than the passing score according to the results of the previous admission campaign) can then submit an application for admission, attaching to it the original certificate, and automatically become a first-year student a month before the announcement of the final admission results.
If the thresholds do not change upwards next summer, the applicant will be admitted to the university on a general basis and will study at the expense of budgetary funds. If the passing score increases - then at the expense of the so-called industry grant.
The university management reimburses the programme participants for travel expenses to St. Petersburg, provides additional scholarships and gives them priority choice of places in hostels. In other words, we are talking not only about saved nerves, but also about financial subsidies.
Summarising the discussion, we can unequivocally say that almost all representatives of the academic community stated the need to preserve the accessibility of higher education. This includes financial incentives for students. Another thing is that these funds will not be enough for them to live a prosperous life anyway. This means that young people who set themselves serious life goals, unless, of course, they have rich parents, will still have to struggle with numerous difficulties and study "through hard work", as many of their great predecessors did. However, difficulties in small doses are known to harden the character, i.e. make the future specialist even more competitive.