Message from President V.V.
Putin to the Federal Assembly knowingly quickly received the unspoken name "message of the future."
Along with clear signals about the understanding of the acuteness of the current situation, the main thing in the message was the prospects for the development of the country, the future, the formation of a new elite based on people who have proven themselves at the front and in the rear.
And the future is always education, upbringing and youth.
The President brought, I think, final clarity on the question in which direction the system of higher education will develop.
The transition to four to six years of study in universities may not sound too revolutionary (four years of study in a modern bachelor's degree, and two more in a master's degree).
But this is only at first glance.
The President said that Russian higher education should not only be based on the traditions of Russian and Soviet higher education, but also become “complete”.
In other words, to give the graduate a set of knowledge sufficient for subsequent labor activity.
And not to be, as was the bachelor's degree, some first stage of some kind of endless education (in order not to frighten anyone, the elegant term “continuous” was used), when a person would have to “fasten” additional “modules” all his life for a fee.
By itself, the Bologna system, perhaps, is not bad.
But the fact that on its basis they tried to build an “educational pyramid” that was completely commercialized and did not take into account the needs of the country was a clear harm to the future.
Russia needs young specialists capable of solving problems in the economy as a whole, industry, and science.
There should be nothing unfinished in education.
Just as there should be no institutions with vaguely defined tasks.
Alas, in recent years, the magistracy has begun to become such an institution, and it is now necessary to think carefully about reformatting it, about its integration into the system of completed higher education.
The task is not to abandon the so-called Bologna system: we outgrew it, and therefore perceived attempts to either rename it, or reface it with undisguised sarcasm.
The task is to ensure that the Russian education system is aimed at ensuring the development of the country, and not always abstract and impracticable in modern conditions "integration into world civilization."
And, of course, it is gratifying that the president emphasized that the most important task is to ensure that students, teachers, and young scientists are not thrown out with the dirty water of the Bologna system in the process of reconfiguring the system of higher education with the dirty water of the Bologna system.
The accentuated sparing regime of reforming higher education just emphasizes the seriousness of the intentions of the political leadership.
A careful but consistent dismantling of the archaism of the times of Russia's non-sovereignty should be followed by a whole program of measures to change the entire system of not only university education, but also science.
The first step in this direction is to increase the status and role of postgraduate studies as a specific institution linking higher education and science.
In the last couple of decades, this postgraduate function has also been lost, which has turned it into an institution without a clear definition of status and tasks.
By the way, the author of this material received higher education at Moscow State University named after M.V.
Lomonosov (graduate of 1989) according to the 4 + 1 + 1 scheme and believes that such a scheme was optimal for his specialization.
In this regard, let me remind you that one of the most important features of the classical Russian-Soviet system of higher education in its best manifestations was a constant connection with practice, with real life.
It seems that this should become the main vector in the practical implementation of the tasks set by the president.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.