Azerbaijan

The government has annulled the offering of military courses in institutions of higher education, which had previously allowed students to simultaneously continue their studies and fulfill compulsory national military service. Students protested the move by picketing the National Defense Ministry.

— Times Higher Supplement
Feb. 23, 2001

Russia

Suggested plans for educational reform sparked nationwide protests in early March, bringing together the concerns of educators and parents. Minister of Education Valentina Matviyenko had proposed a plan for university admissions based on a national standardized test. The score that a student receives would then determine the tuition charged – the higher the score, the less the student pays. In addition, that score would be the primary determinant of the institutions that are open to the applicant.

The plan’s detractors claim this reform would lead to the commercialization of education and unfair exclusion of students from the provinces. Currently, students seeking a place at an institution of higher learning must travel to that particular school and take its examination. While this seems to be a disservice to students from regions far from Moscow and St. Petersburg, many say the new system would unfairly judge students from various backgrounds by a standard set in urban Russia. Even if the student is admitted, few families from the provinces could afford to pay the tuition.

Proponents of the plan say it will create a single, orderly standardization of college admission policy and will deter the massive corruption that affects admissions today. It will also make primary and secondary education more stringent, pushing the starting age for study from seven to six and adding test preparation to the curriculum.

Protesters also voiced their concerns over teachers’ salaries, which have been cited in the range of 200 to 800 rubles a month. Although the government has pledged to double these wages, the current economic crisis in the country has delayed pay increases.

— St. Petersburg Times
March 2, 2001