“The trend towards an increase in specialty”: the head of the Russian Academy of Education Olga Vasilyeva - on the rejection of the Bologna system

— Olga Yurievna, the Ministry of Education and Science recently reported that all

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For many years I have tried to follow a well-known principle: hurry slowly.

Today, in the context of global instability, it is more relevant than ever.

To give peace to those who have already entered or will only enter universities this year, to prevent any infringement of the Bologna generation of graduates, among whom there are people with already very solid professional experience, to take care of students and teachers - this is the main thing we are talking about today we think.

Understand that when Russia was just entering the Bologna process 20 years ago, the country did not undertake any strict obligations to work exclusively according to the “bachelor’s – master’s” scheme.

In a number of areas of training, the specialist has been preserved, including by law.

Even today, along with undergraduate and graduate programs, there are more than 100 five-six-year single-level specialist programs (mainly in engineering and medical specialties, in the field of art).

We have already observed a trend towards an increase in the number of specialists in the structure of state-funded admissions over the past few years, and this is absolutely correct.

Taking all the best we had and moving forward, adapting to modern challenges is the consolidated position of the expert, scientific and professional communities.

• President of the Russian Academy of Education Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Olga Vasilyeva

• © RIA Novosti / Evgeny Biyatov

The Russian Academy of Education supports the decision to create a national system of higher education in the interests of the Russian economy, industry and the social sphere, including with the priority of technological sovereignty, national security and best domestic practices in certain areas of training.

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The “bachelor-master” system was introduced in the law “On higher and postgraduate education” in Russia back in 1996 - before the start of the Bologna process in 1998 in Bologna.

And it began to be implemented in Russia even earlier.

Inclusion in the Bologna process in our country was really required by universities that train foreign students.

A striking example is RUDN University, where they were one of the first to start recruiting for two-stage programs.

That is, it all started long before 2003, when Russia officially joined the Bologna process.

Here we return to the main reason - the export of educational services.

Joining the convention meant integrating our universities into the common European space, simplifying the recognition of diplomas, and increasing the flexibility of programs.

But today we understand that many goals have not been achieved, and the shortcomings of the "bachelor's - master's" system are obvious.

It is not surprising that five-year undergraduate programs began to appear in our universities (the Higher School of Economics, for example).

I am convinced that it is necessary to give a legal assessment of the participation of Russian universities in the Bologna Process, to implement mechanisms to increase the share of specialists in the structure of Russian higher education programs.

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— The traditional system for us - specialty - involves five years of study, after which higher education is complete, and then the graduate decides for himself: whether to go to work or to engage in science.

During the transition to a two-level system in many areas of training, we were faced with the fact that the specialist's program was reduced to four years of study, which, of course, affected the quality of training not for the better.

Most of all, as experts say, we have lost our engineering and technical areas, those programs that require a lot of practice.

• AGN "Moscow"

• © Sergey Kiselev

Regrettably, our pedagogical universities have also lost the quality of education.

Teaching is a mass profession, and it is my deep conviction that, for the most part, bachelor's training is not enough for teachers.

Yes, in some cases, you can’t do without a pedagogical master’s degree - this is an important way to enter the profession for graduates from other areas, and such specialists are in demand.

But in the practice of preparing a mass teacher, in my opinion, it is worth returning to a five-year training in pedagogical universities.

And the second important point regarding teacher education is that today we need to return a high-quality course on defectology and developmental physiology, and child psychology to the teacher training system.

Training in these areas, unfortunately, has been reduced, but the methods it provides are extremely important and in demand today, and not only in correctional pedagogy.

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- Russia, of course, needs to expand the traditional five-year system for us, but we need to understand that today we cannot simply take a 40-year-old tracing paper and transfer it to the present.

As for the “2 + 2 + 2” system, according to this concept, for the first two years students study subjects that are common to the enlarged group of specialties for which they entered, and after the second year there is a profiling: in the third or fourth years there is a more specific , vocational training in a particular specialty.

Then you can add two more years of in-depth, practice-oriented or science-oriented training.

Creating flexible educational programs, individual educational trajectories is all great, but the main question is how this will be implemented in detail in practice.

• © www.edu.ru

Here, in no case should one make hasty decisions, it is necessary to analyze how this format will be applied in the case of each specific specialty.

This, of course, will require reconfiguration, the creation of new educational programs.

The entire professional community should be involved in this process, and the Russian Academy of Education, as a key scientific, methodological and prognostic center, is ready to provide the necessary support in developing the main directions for building this system.

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I want to emphasize right away: the USE has never been part of the Bologna process.

All these years, the Unified State Examination has been improved and continues to improve.

The tests used at the very beginning, which caused, in general, justified criticism, are a thing of the past.

Today in the Unified State Exam there are more and more creative questions that require reflection and the ability to analyze.

Schoolchildren and parents are already accustomed to the ability to submit exam results online - and to several universities at once.

Today, a graduate does not need to go to the other side of the country to take exams at each of the five universities or lose a year because of a failed entrance exam at one of the universities.

I often cite this example: let's imagine that the exam was taken and canceled.

How will the admission go?

First, we pass five final exams at school, then four more at the university, and we participate in the certificate competition.

Will graduates in this case have the opportunity and time to take exams at several universities at once?

How up-to-date and objective, methodically verified will the assignments be?

After all, you can’t just take and shake off the dust from university tickets 20 years ago.

It is the USE that now allows us to remove most of these issues for school graduates from different parts of our country.

Yes, the USE is certainly not the most perfect tool, but it is very difficult to find a worthy alternative to it today. 

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Indeed, it was once assumed that participation in the Bologna process would increase the opportunities for academic mobility for Russian students, simplify internships and employment abroad.

But in many ways, the integration mechanisms have not worked.

This is a question not only of the quality of education, but also of prestige, reputation, well-established international relations and, of course, the economy.

There are several Russian universities whose diplomas really matter abroad.

Graduates of our leading medical and technical universities are highly valued, especially engineers and programmers, but in the field of humanitarian knowledge, the attitude is completely different.  

• Schoolchildren before the start of the Unified State Examination (USE) in basic mathematics at a school in Moscow

• RIA News

• © Maxim Blinov

I note that Russia has entered into agreements on the mutual recognition of diplomas and academic degrees with many countries, but far from all.

Against this background, it is puzzling how some of our employers accept a graduate of any European or American university, without asking what kind of organization the student studied in and what level of training it gives.

As far as Europe is concerned, it was the Bologna Process that completed the transformation of Western higher education into a highly competitive service and market.

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— I am sure that the opportunities for foreign students to enter Russian universities will remain just as wide.

Education has always been our soft power, and we should never give it up.

The question is rather that a huge number of foreign students who come to study with us are more comfortable with the form of diploma that is accepted in the countries where they plan to find a job.

Therefore, in my opinion, it makes sense to consider the possibility of preserving the bachelor's and master's programs for this group of students and the universities in which they study.

As for the admission of graduates of Russian schools to foreign universities: our applicants have always been required to pass exams according to the standards of the institutions in which they are going to study, leaving the Bologna process will not change anything here.

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— Of course, the challenges we face are very serious: many projects and agreements have been put on hold, there are difficulties with access to international databases and foreign equipment.

But our scientists continue to work, root for their work, and this is the main thing.

If we go back to the previous questions for a moment, I can assume that in the coming years we will even be able to attract more students to graduate school, and consequently, to science, because after a five-year program it is possible to enter there faster.

• Moscow State University

• © Konstantin Kokoshkin/Global Look Press

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Yes, it may not be as well known as Web of Science and Scopus, but the Russian system Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) has existed for quite a long time, and I hope that we will begin to mention it more often.

Many people also know the system of Moscow State University named after M.V.

Lomonosov "TRUTH" ("Intellectual system of thematic research of scientometric data").

Both of these services work for the scientific community.

Russian scientists have long faced the need to find opportunities and means to publish in journals indexed by foreign systems.

It's time to finally take a step towards domestic projects and publications, especially since there is now a moratorium on the need to publish in the journals Web of Science and Scopus.

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- We are developing cooperation with foreign partner organizations - primarily from the countries of the post-Soviet space and Asian states.

In addition, the participation of the Academy in international scientific integration associations is expanding.

An agreement was reached on the entry of the Russian Academy of Education into the International Association of Academies of Sciences, which plans to develop the educational agenda as well.

There are other initiatives aimed at the formation of scientific alliances and project groups.

Just recently, we have held negotiations and concluded three cooperation agreements with scientific and educational organizations of Belarus, signed a cooperation plan providing for scientific and methodological assistance to the development of the education system of the Republic of Abkhazia.

We receive requests to create a partner scientific network with regional scientific centers of the Russian Academy of Education on the basis of partner foreign organizations.

The development of cooperation with China is, of course, a promising direction.

RAO is negotiating with the National Institute of Educational Research of China.

Colleagues showed great interest in our research and developments in the field of secondary vocational education, educational stress, and post-pandemic learning.

We are planning a large Russian-Chinese forum in the autumn, which will allow us to formalize agreements and initiate joint projects.

Now we are forming joint groups of scientists in priority areas of cooperation.

So, I think, it is not worth talking about the isolation of Russian science from the world.

In my opinion, the main country that should help the development of Russian science is Russia itself.

No one, except for Russian scientists, can and will not conduct high-quality and advanced research on topics that are relevant specifically for our realities.

We are interested in developing our scientific schools, conducting research, because this improves the quality of education and life of our citizens, and strengthens national security.