Russia
Officials from Top universities Unhappy with Global University Rankings
Officials from Russian universities have called for the creation of Russia’s own university ranking system, after their own institutions failed to win international recognition in a year when the country has been galvanized by Kremlin calls for modernization.
Some might say the problem boils down to a “Squirrel Institute” mentality — an arrogance by scholars that causes them to refuse to learn English or publish their research in English. As a result, their work often escapes the attention of the international academic community, and Russian universities suffer, reports The Moscow Times.
Not a single Russian university made it to the top 200 list of the world’s best schools released this fall by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings [1]. Last year, Moscow State University [2] placed 155th, while St. Petersburg State University [3] came in at 168th. Dismayed with Moscow State University’s lackluster ranking, its rector, Viktor Sadovnichy, said Russia needed to create its own ranking because international ratings are not objective concerning Russian schools. The idea was explicitly backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Russian rectors in October.
– Moscow Times [4]
November 18, 2010
Academics Protest Government Plan to Attract Scientists from Abroad
Academics in Russia are protesting a Kremlin effort to attract scientists from overseas to work in Russia, saying the government should raise the wages it pays to Russians instead.
The plan they are angry about is a new, $390 million program that includes generous financial awards to scientists. The contest is open to all nationalities and is intended in part to entice Russian émigré scientists to return from universities and research laboratories abroad. The largest grants are for 150 million rubles (about US$5 million), which is a huge and unprecedented sum by Russian standards. It also includes offers of equipment and laboratory assistants.
The program is part of a wider government push to encourage greater interaction between Russian academic and industry scientists and their foreign colleagues. In October, the Russian ministry of education and science [5] chose 40 scientists, only five of whom live in Russia, although 20 are Russian citizens. In response, hundreds of researchers have participated in street protests in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities to criticize the Kremlin’s plan. And Internet forums in Russia have reportedly been full of frustrated comments by scientists.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [6]
November 21, 2010
New Funding for Universities
The Russian government has announced that it will allocate as much as 137 billion rubles (US$4.1 billion) to the development of education from 2011-15 under a new federal program. It is expected that most of the money will be spent on strengthening universities.
Approved on November 22, the new program will help with the introduction of new technologies, improving the quality of teaching staff, and upgrading the material and technical infrastructure of the country’s largest federal universities. In addition, significant funds will be allocated to increased salaries for teaching staff and scholarships for students, which will rise by an average of 6.5 percent.
Andrei Fursenko, the Minister of Education, said most of the funds for the program would be allocated from the federal budget as well as from regional budgets and the remainder, an estimated 17 billion rubles (US$500 million), would come from extra -budgetary resources.
“As part of the target program we are planning to implement a public-private partnership, which is expected to allow universities to reduce their dependence on state funds,” Fursenko said.
The salary increase, it is hoped, will help alleviate corruption, with current average salaries for Russian teachers and professors (US$800-$1,000 per month) among the lowest in Europe. It is widely believed that low salaries are a major contributing factor to corruption, especially during entrance and traditional examinations.
– University World News [7]
December 5, 2010
Tajikistan
Tajik Students at Iranian Madrasahs Bought Home By Tajik Authorities
Tajik authorities traveled to Iran in November to bring home 137 Tajik students who had been studying at madrasahs after concerns about their radicalization abroad.
Najmiddin Salimov — an official from the State Committee on Religious Affairs — told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that a delegation of the committee had traveled to Iran and met with students in an effort to convince them it was better for them to return home.
Salimov noted that students at “illegal” foreign Islamic schools “cause problems” inside Tajikistan. He said that is why the Tajik government is interested in bringing them home. Some parents of the returning students told RFE/RL that their children mostly studied in Islamic schools in Iran’s Sistan and Zahedan provinces, where Sunni muslims live.
The return of the Tajik students from Muslim countries began in August-September after Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said students at illegal Islamic schools too often “fall under the influence of extremists and turn into enemies.”
Rahmon advised parents to bring their children back to Tajikistan. Since then, an estimated 400 Tajik students have returned from madrasahs in Egypt and more than 200 from Pakistan.
– RFE/RL [8]
November 23, 2010