Good Education at the Premium
Are Russians happy with the way their children are taught at school? Are they ready to support education reform, including financially? The Public Opinion foundation, commissioned by the RF Presidential Staff, conducted a special survey, polling 1,500 urban and rural residents. Some of the survey's results proved nothing short of sensational. YAROSLAV KUZM1NOV, rector of the Higher School of Economics and member of the RF State Council's working group, comments on the poll.
| A |
Half of the respondents believe that the quality of secondary education has declined, compared to the Soviet era. But one in five is sure that education standards have gone up. Forty-five percent of respondents said that their children liked going to school (while 14 percent said they didn't), and 42 percent are happy with their teachers (as compared to 9 percent who are not).
'We were surprised to find that most parents were content with the school system in its present state. The rural school is held in especially high esteem, mainly because it enables school-leavers to go on to university — to get an education and make their way in the world, as they used to say. A kind of throwback to the Soviet era, in the positive sense.
True, moral support for education comes not only from the countryside and small towns. Today there is still a strong belief among all social strata that a good education is a pass to a well-paid job and higher status. Unfortunately, the 1990s offered us an example to the contrary: A good education is not synonymous with a cushy job. I am afraid that within the lifetime of a generation people could grow disappointed with the power of education. This is one of the most devastating outcomes of the 1990s.
| B |
Forty-five percent of college and university students have to pay tuition fees with only half of them completing their course of studies and taking a degree -oftentimes for lack of money. Many start looking for a higher education institution within their means. But what is an offer of a course for $120 a year? Profanation, pure and simple. Imagine a higher education establishment that has nothing of its own: It leases a building and hires teachers to work on a part-time basis. Large numbers of semi-educated people who have graduated from such institutions will not be able to get a good job in the future.
The public should identify good education with a successful career. So today a surgical operation needs to be performed, unpleasant for many: closing pseudo-institutions of higher education, both state and non-state, and making economics, law, and management — the three most coveted specialties in the country today that are taught at just any technical college — subject to a special licensing and certification procedure.
One of the most stunning results of the survey is that more than half of respondents approve of the plan to introduce a unified state test (UST) replacing both high school finals and college or university entrance examinations. For some reason I did not expect more than half of Russians to embrace the UST plan: Opposition to it had been far too strong. Communists kept saying at every public rally that the UST authors were selling out their motherland. Interestingly, the UST plan is favored by 70 percent of the rural population. Why? Because it reduces the share of free-paying tuition, making admission to higher education institutions more even-handed. We have always been trying to explain that to our opponents. And so at last, rural residents have realized that instead of paying five private tutors to coach their children for college or university exams; they’d be better off paying just one – to prepare their children for the UST.
Yet another unexpected result is that two-thirds of respondents are ready to pay for their children’s education. Before the survey, we put the figure at a mere 50 percent. Last year, 49 percent of the total number of students were admitted to colleges or universities on a free-paying basis. But even so-called budget-maintained courses can be said to provide free tuition in name only. For the most part they are open to those who have paid a lot of money to provide tutors or children of high-ranking officials, trading on their position.
It needs to be understood that the money that parents are spending today on their children’s education is very near a critical point: By and large, our population is very poor. If we want to have a high-quality education system in 10 years, it will be impossible to achieve without additional state funding.
On the other hand, those who say, we need no reform, just give us money, are also wrong. Experts at the Higher School of Economics analyzed this option, coming to the following conclusion: Yes, the situation at secondary schools will improve, but it will get worse at higher education institutions. To achieve a breakthrough in the education system as a whole, additional resources should be combined with radical reform. This is why we insist that the state should return to the education system.
| C |
The idea of the state's coming back to the education system is often daunting to those who are afraid to see a revival of totalitarian trends. This, however, is not our intention. The most important thing here is to transfer schools from municipal control back under the jurisdiction of Federation members. Some 70 percent of municipalities do not have money of their own: They lack a tax base. They should first be enabled to get a source of revenue and only then have schools placed in their charge. Bringing schools back into the state fold today means simply streamlining financial flows.
Sure, an education system can never be perfect. (Consider the U.S. system: It is packed with money to overflowing, but the Americans still complain about the poor quality of education). Still, it is essential to understand: Russian society is not tapping the only asset that it still has. We are lagging behind the developed countries on a vast number of parameters and can only effectively reform our economy by investing in the education system. Today this would be by far the most sensible investment of all.
Task 1
Match the following words from the text to their proper definitions and give their Russian equivalents.
| 1. commission 2. poll 3. decline 4. content 5. devastating 5. covet 6. stunning 7. by and large 8. revenue 9. cushy | a) needing little effort, easy b) desire eagerly to possess c) completely destructive d) give the job, duty or power to a person or group of people e) on the whole, in general f) question a number of people to find out the general opinion g) an effect or result h) move from higher to lower i) income received by the government as tax j) attractive, beautiful k) satisfied, happy |
Task 2
All the words in the charts appear in the text. Match a line in A with a line in B and use the new words and phrases in your own sentences.
| A | B | A | B |
| education | leaver | get | a survey |
| secondary | job | lease | free tuition |
| school | reform | hire | an education |
| tuition | officials | conduct | a course of studies |
| entrance | student | take | education reform |
| state-run | education | provide | a building |
| well-paid | fee | support | teachers |
| high-ranking | institution | work | a degree |
| college | examination | complete | on a part-time basis |
Task 3
There are about twenty noun + noun combination in the text. Try to find them and translate into Russian.
Task 4
Answer the following questions.
1. How many respondents approve of the Soviet secondary education system?
2. Do most children like going to school?
3. Why do rural school leavers want to go to University?
4. What is one of the most destructive effects of the 1990s?
5. How many students have to pay for their studies?
6. Do all non-state educational institutions provide good education?
7. What steps should be undertaken to improve the education system?
8. Does the plant to introduce a unified state test (UST) find any support?
9. How many parents are ready to pay for their children’s education?
10. Why is state funding a must in achieving a breakthrough in the education system?
11. Can municipalities cope with the education system reform?
12. What is the outcome of investing in the education system?
Task 5
Say if the following sentences are true or false.
1. Getting education is favored in the countryside and small towns.
2. In the 1990s good education was a guarantee to find a well-paid job.
3. Only about twenty-five percent of students can complete their course of studies in non-state colleges and universities.
4. All private educational establishments offer high-quality courses of studies.
5. To rise the quality of higher education some drastic measures should be taken.
6. The introduction of a unified state test (UST) is supported by most respondents.
7. The opposition to UST is strong too.
8. Only 50 percent of respondents are ready to pay for their children’s education.
9. The money that parents pay for their children’s education is a very hard burden for the family budget.
10. School should stay under municipal control.
Task 6
Explain or say in another way.
1. Today there is still a strong belief among all social strata that a good education is a pass to well-paid job and higher status.
2. A good education is not synonymous with a cushy job.
3. But even the so-called budget-maintained courses can be said to provide free tuition in name only.
4. That is why we insist that the state should return to the educational system.
5. Many start looking for a higher education institution within their means.
6. The budget-maintained courses are open to those who have paid a lot of money to private teachers or children of high-ranking officials, trading on their position.
Task.7
Render the text into English.
Люди с высшим образованием меньше подвержены депрессии
У людей с высшим образованием лучше состояние здоровья, с ними реже происходят несчастные случаи. Выпускники университетов гораздо реже испытывают депрессию. Эти данные были получены британскими учеными, проследившими за судьбой семнадцати тысяч человек, родившихся в первую неделю марта 1958 года. Исследование, проведенное по заказу английского совета по образованию, показало, что у мужчин, не закончивших образование, депрессия через десять лет отмечалась почти в три раза чаще, чем у выпускников университетов. Примерно в три раза чаще бросившие университет становились безработными. У женщин, в отличие от мужчин, прекращение учебы не вызывало выраженной депрессии. Выпускники университетов реже подвергались насилию, а у их детей реже возникали проблемы с учебой. Специалисты объясняют полученные данные тем, что неспособность завершить образование снижает самооценку. Образ жизни людей с высшим образованием предполагает меньший риск несчастных случаев и любых форм насилия. Положительную роль играют также интенсивное общение и дружба между студентами, возникающая во время учебы. В ранее проведенном исследовании было показано, что мужчины с высшим образованием зарабатывают в среднем на двенадцать процентов больше, чем их сверстники со средним образованием. У женщин этот разрыв достигает тридцати четырех процентов. Теперь впервые убедительно доказано, что высшее образование дает не только экономические преимущества, но и в значительной мере обеспечивает социальное благополучие.
Helpful vocabulary
Accident (несчастный случай), drop out (прекращать), in contrast to (в отличие), pronounced/marked (выраженный), intercourse (общение).
Text 2
Pre-reading task
The underlying principle of the American system of education is to educate people in such a way that everyone has the opportunity to develop his/her greatest potential. Most Russians enjoy studying in the United States. What awaits them back home?
Reading
Read the text quickly and answer the following questions.
1. How much does a higher education in the United State cost?
2. Who can afford to send their children to an American university?
3. Why are exchange programs nonexistent today?