KBSU discussed the results of hearings in the State Duma on the development of higher education

July 4, 2022 at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H. M. Berbekov held a meeting of the academic council of the university chaired by acting rector of KBSU Professor Yuri Altudov.

Information about the parliamentary hearings on the development of the higher education system in the Russian Federation, held on June 27 in the State Duma, presented by the head of the strategic programs and projects department of the KBSU Ramazan Ligidov, aroused great interest among colleagues.

«The strategic topic of discussion with the participation of heads of universities, representatives of the professorial and expert communities, student corporations, industrial partners, authorities was the evolution of the national education system in connection with the rejection of the Bologna model», — said R. Ligidov and quoted the words of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkova: “With Russia leaving the Bologna system, students should not be afraid of non-recognition of diplomas.”

Then he listed the key principles on which the Russian Ministry of Education and Science proposes to build a national system of higher education. This is the achievement of national goals, openness, fundamentality, flexibility, practicality.

Many speakers stressed the need to pay great attention to the education of student youth.

R. Ligidov spoke about the proposal of the President of the Russian Union of Rectors, Rector of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov Viktor Sadovnichy to consider several trajectories of the development of higher education in Russia:

«First: a specialist for five or six years with one or two qualifications. This option seems to be a priority for the head of the country’s largest university: this is how specialists should be trained for high-tech and state-important industries.

The second trajectory: bachelor + master in integrated specialties. It is also expedient for knowledge-intensive, high-tech areas of training. The option assumes the possibility of leaving the trajectory after receiving a bachelor’s degree, but the statistics of Moscow State University show that 90% of graduates prefer the bachelor + master model, thus the option has passed the test of time.

The third trajectory is to leave the currently dominant four-year undergraduate model with separate admission rules: it is mainly needed for foreign citizens.

In the matter of choosing the path of development of the national higher education, one must proceed from the priorities of maintaining the stability of the educational process, healthy continuity. It is necessary to abandon the cardinal breakdown of the existing system. Specialist and integrated master’s programs should be given priority, while bachelor’s and individual master’s programs should be given a certain percentage. It would probably be wise and correct to keep all the preparation options».

Quoting V.A. Sadovnichy, head of the Department of Strategic Programs and Projects of the KBSU, noted that at parliamentary hearings in the State Duma, the chairman of the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Sergei Kabyshev, called a teacher a key figure in the education system. According to him, teachers should be provided with decent financial rewards.

At the end of Ramazan Ligidov’s speech, Yury Altudov explained to his colleagues:

«No one forces us to rush, to destroy the existing system. The transition will be flexible. By the way, in 2022 we work according to the old standards».

At the suggestion of the Vice-Rector for Admissions and Pre-University Activities Arsen Kharaev, the members of the Academic Council approved the amount of incentive payments to attract talented youth to KBSU. The lists of students who have been assigned nominal scholarships of KBSU, material assistance have been approved. Other suggestions considered.