It is believed that student organizations in Russia are developing rapidly: young people are more actively involved in the co-management of universities, in regional politics and in shaping the federal agenda. "Our University_online" talked with the Ombudsman for Students in the Russian Federation Artem Khromov about what worries Russian students the most.

What issues are of greatest concern to students?

The vast majority of students are concerned about the problems of transferring students from universities being liquidated, higher fees, unfavorable living conditions in dormitories, transparency in the payment of scholarships, extortion of bribes, difficulties in finding employment, and much more.

Often one has to come across new stories when graduates were not massively paid scholarships or students were not allowed to participate in the elections, violating the direct instructions of the federal authorities.

Our main task with the team is to ensure that the student receives prompt advice, as well as to accompany and maintain the student's anonymity in order to solve the problem painlessly and without negative consequences.

What initiatives, in general terms, are you seeking to implement?

At present, I am worried that the vast majority are unable to receive state-supported educational loans, that we have completely undeveloped domestic academic mobility, that there are violations of student rights during the liquidation of universities, and that a standard for student meals has not been created, in universities and colleges do not comply with fire safety regulations and so on. And I will do my best to achieve the implementation of the planned progressive reforms that will solve these problems.

Let's remember the recent case of cutting scholarships for Ukrainian students, which resulted in the launch of a cake for the Deputy Minister of Finance. How are situations like this usually handled?

In fact, in all countries of the world, student organizations have been striving for decades to be able to influence youth policy. In some countries, it is still customary to hold street events, in others - to conduct public debates, in others - to achieve results through the negotiation process.

Basically, serious protest moods arise when unpopular and harsh reforms are carried out that reduce the social obligations of the state.

In Canada and South Africa, students have overturned cars and fought with the police to oppose the commercialization of education. But there are protests that are due to other reasons: Mexican students protested, demanding an objective investigation into the kidnapping of young people by bandits, Georgian students staged a strike, demanding fair elections at the university.

But most often the reasons for the emergence of protests are related to the fact that decisions are made in an opaque way or are rudely pushed through. At the same time, many European independent student organizations rarely express dissatisfaction, since all decisions are initially discussed and agreed with them.

In Russia in recent years, important issues of youth policy have been actively discussed with student organizations, the powers of student organizations have been expanded, and procedures for direct general election of student leaders have been introduced at our universities. But we must continue to increase the openness of decision-making and improve the forms of public discussion.

The story of the “naked” initiation at KSU caused a resonance, and the story of unsuitable conditions in the FEFU dormitories was also discussed. Is the phenomenon of such a “handsfree” positive, or is it still worth solving internal problems “without leaving home”?

I think they are different stories. Why was the public touched by the story at KSU? But the event was simply held by university staff, and it seems to many that initiations could take place in exactly the same way at other universities. It turns out that the topic is socially significant, so it has become resonant.

And local social and everyday conflicts become public when they are not resolved or “blurred”. This is how a student who is encouraged to act wisely and not violate the established order will relate to the fact that he is in violation of the law and with the words “you know what!” evicted from the hostel, not transferred to a state-funded place, extorted a bribe? He will seek justice by all legal means.

Today, Yakutia for international students is not a cold unknown land, but a real home, a place not only for study, but also for scientific research. How should the "exchange" direction develop in the future?

Currently, the state program "Global Education" is in effect, which involves full payment for tuition and accommodation for students who enter foreign universities.

But it seems to me that it is important to develop internal Russian academic mobility.

Would you like to study for half a year at SFedU or get a double degree from NEFU and St. Petersburg State University? So I would be very happy to go to study for some time in another Russian university. We are currently starting to actively prepare for the implementation of this project in Russia.

If we compare foreign and Russian students, what are their main differences? And what is the difference between education in our country and in other countries?

There are enough problems in the Russian education system. But in fact, our education is very competitive. It is no coincidence that our graduates are pulled by large foreign corporations with all their might. And it is no coincidence that we have recently risen in foreign rankings ... And our students are smarter, more interesting and more beautiful!

Does politics play a big role in the lives of young people today? Does the current tense political situation in the world have a detrimental effect on Russian students?

There is no doubt that the current student leaders are the future political elite of our country. However, education and science should always be outside of politics. Therefore, I do not like the attempts of foreign partners to influence academic mobility and joint scientific activities. But propaganda cannot affect the friendship of smart and kind people with whom the world is full. Let's live in peace!

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High tuition fees are the main problem that worries students of Russian universities, according to a survey conducted by the Research Center of the recruiting portal Superjob.ru. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, at the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year, there were about a thousand institutions of higher professional education in Russia, in which approximately 7 million students study, of which 3 million chose full-time education.

About a third of students (28%) are most concerned about the high tuition fees at the university. “Today it is very expensive to study. At least on a commercial basis, at least on a budgetary basis. It is worrying that tuition fees are increasing every year,” respondents say. A fifth of Russian students (20%) do not care at all. "There are no problems now. I'm in my fifth year, so nothing bothers me," says the survey participant. The need to combine work and study worries 15% of respondents. According to the respondents, education suffers the most from this.

“The main problem is that employers don’t let you go on study leave. You have to go on a regular one, or skip a session altogether. A lot of time is spent on work, therefore, there is less time to delve into the educational material than we would like,” students complain. An insignificant part of students (10%) are worried about difficulties with employment after graduation and the lack of a system for the distribution of graduates. "The university is not worried about the future fate of the student. There is no distribution, there are no connections and agreements with enterprises," the respondents note.

The poor quality of education and the low professional level of teachers worries 7% of the respondents. “The worry is that after graduating from the institute, I will hardly be able to work in the profession for which I am studying, because I understand that I do not understand anything in it. I just keep quiet about not knowing languages,” says the survey participant. Despite the fact that the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Dmitry Livanov intends to declare war on bribery and plagiarism in Russian universities, the students themselves are practically not concerned about this topic. Only 4% of students are concerned about corruption and bribery in education. “In our time, everything is sold and bought,” the respondents note.

An even smaller number of students (2%) are concerned about the lack of practice during their studies at the university. “The university provides a minimum of practical knowledge. There is no base for practical classes, you won’t go far at lectures alone. There is no provision of industrial practice by the university,” students say.
The survey was conducted on November 13-16, its participants were university students from all regions of the Russian Federation who wish to combine work and study or are already combining. The sample size is 500 respondents.

20 years ago, the staff of the pedagogical university decided that the problems of youth should be discussed by its representatives, and they gathered students for the first conference.

The students read the first 20 reports in April 1998. Then they talked about professional self-determination, religion, politics, cultural values, health, the development of student self-government. They are talking about the same now, but only in more detail, in detail, not only voicing problems, but also offering options for solving them.

“I am a fourth-year student at the Faculty of History, I have already gone through industrial practice at school, and that is why I raised the topic of its importance for students at the anniversary conference,” says Alexey Filippov.- It happens that when coming to school, a student can hear from the teacher: they say, forget everything that you were taught at the university, everything is different here. Not really. University teachers provide the necessary knowledge that will help to adapt in practice. Students can switch quickly, they just need to keep their interest in the profession.”

Who is in control?

This year the conference participants were students from Belarus, China, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, as well as from Moscow, Voronezh, Saratov, Yekaterinburg and Tula. Future teachers, psychologists, lawyers, economists, engineers, farmers told their peers about the problems that exist in their countries, cities and settlements. Something is close to everyone, but something becomes the scourge of only one country.

"My mate report," says freshman Alexander Kablukov.- The speech portrait of our society looks worse precisely because the younger generation uses obscenities in their speech. This is a serious social problem. First of all, in order to solve it, it is necessary to control the media and the Internet, since not only in everyday life we ​​hear it on the street, but often from TV screens, and I generally keep quiet about videos on the network.

Where should young people go?

But most of all, both Russian and foreign students are concerned about employment.

“In Afghanistan in 2014 there was 25% unemployment, in 2016 this figure rose to 40%,” says Miras Haru. - Employment problems also apply to young people. Moreover, they affect it more strongly, because it is already difficult for a young specialist to get a job: experience is required everywhere.

One of the solutions could be a quota for young professionals in production, but this is still a lot for the authorities to think about.

“We all learned a little…”

Many people think that studying is a boring and tedious process. But not for students! The ability to maneuver between cramming and gouging is a unique skill that is easily acquired by every student during their studies at the university. What could be more fun than the romance of pre-scoring nights? Just yesterday you were partying with your classmates, and today you are studying tickets for the exam until the morning, encouraged only by a cup of strong coffee. Yesterday's student easily learns to absorb knowledge like a sponge at any time of the day and in any condition. And how can one not remember here thinking about a plan to hide cribs, shouting “Freebie come”, which no longer frightens the residents of neighboring houses, about schoolbooks on a rope outside the window and other stupid but funny student signs?

Being a student is cool, because you learn to find a way out of the most difficult situation.

Crazy years seething fun

However, students are not only a time of boring lectures, seminars and tests. It is also an opportunity to try yourself in different activities and visit unusual places. In student life, in addition to the university, there are still a lot of interesting things: KVN, scientific circles, language courses, performances at concerts, trips of construction teams and much more. The student is a life lover who is driven by the desire to make discoveries, seek adventures and learn new things. Nothing can stop him, because he is chasing the most vivid impressions and memories. The first serious relationship, the search for your place in life, part-time jobs and the desire to be better - these are the main components of being a student.

Students are the age when you can enjoy life and freedom, spend time carelessly, take risks, do crazy things without fear of condemnation from people, because “students can do anything!”.

Being a student is cool because you never sit still.

Shared life

The most acute "beautiful time" is experienced by students from other cities. In the hostel, life boils worse than water in a kettle! It is in this place that yesterday's schoolboy begins to feel like a part of some large and friendly team. It's easy to find friends here while waiting in line for the shower or cooking the last pack of pasta for the whole room in the kitchen. In the hostel, not a single resident will leave you in trouble if you are left without food, money or electricity.

Only in this building do children pass through the "mill of life" and enter the world as people who have become stronger in spirit. A resident of a student dormitory not only shows here all his primary personal qualities, but also develops other traits of his character. For example, ingenuity. After all, who, if not a student, is able to learn how to eat soup with a spoon, cook gourmet dishes from nothing, boil a kettle without a kettle and sleep in the light. And evening gatherings with a guitar, the search for truth in heated discussions and nightly heart-to-heart talks with roommates are an integral part of the life of every university student.