In 2017, the government can cut up to 40% of budget places in universities
It is planned to reduce support for research programs and “optimize” other articles of the budget.
Photo: gazeta.ru
The Russian government can reduce up to 40% of budgetary places in universities next year. The problem is that the Ministry of Education and Science does not have money to pay for admission of students to the first year, writes Gazeta.ru. Budget cuts also lead to a reduction in scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. By 2019, 10.3 thousand researchers of universities, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Kurchatov Institute can remain without work.
This is exactly what will happen if the Ministry of Finance leaves in force the budget cuts for such state programs as Education Development and Science and Technology Development. The government approved the main ways of optimizing state programs on July 7. Total budget expenditures at the same time, it was decided to freeze at the level of 15.78 trillion rubles. per year for the years 2017-2019.
The Ministry of Education and Science claims that such a decision will lead to a real reduction in spending on the needs of science and education in Russia. For example, the state program “Development of Education” was underfunded last year, in 2016 it will be reduced by 11.5% of its passport value. And in 2017, the sequestration of the educational program will amount to 23.4% of the passport of the program. Reductions will continue in 2018, 2019, when expenses will decrease by 28.5% and 35.2%, respectively. In 2019, the share of expenditure on education in the total budget expenditures will fall from 2.75% in 2015 to 2.45% in 2019.
The lack of funds to finance the state program "Development of Science and Technology" will lead to the need for large-scale layoffs among scientists. The share of the scientific state program in the total budget expenditures is reduced from 0.98% in 2015 to 0.87% in 2019.
By 2019, from the payroll sheet of the FANO, the Ministry of Education and Science proposes to remove about 8.3 thousand researchers. In 2017, 3.5 thousand people may be dismissed. Next year, 1.5 thousand people will be dismissed from the Kurchatov Institute.
The department is not limited to cuts in budget places. The number of supported scientific research, development activities of the scientific and technical base will be reduced, subsidies for government assignments to educational institutions of all levels will be reduced.
Significantly less money is allocated for training WorldSkills professional skills championships. The Ministry of Finance provides for the allocation of 200.8 million rubles per year for these needs. The Ministry of Education and Science believes that supporting interest in blue-collar occupations, the introduction of an independent qualification system and basic vocational training centers will cost 3.6 billion rubles. in 2017, 4.8 billion - in 2018 and 10.5 billion rubles. - in 2019
The Ministry of Education and Science at a government meeting demanded not only not to cut the budget for the needs of science and education, but even to double the cost of some budget items. For example, additional funding for the development of Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, the Higher School of Economics, the Crimean and Sevastopol universities is proposed to increase by 16.9 billion rubles. three years above approved expenses.
Provided that the faculty salaries are indexed, additional expenses will increase by 119.7 rubles from 2017 to 2019. Otherwise, the presidential task of raising public-sector wages to 200% of the average salary in the region will be unfulfilled.
In the same 2017, graduate scholarships were allocated two times less than required.
Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education could not reach an agreement at the meeting. And Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that “in the current conditions, it will be necessary to optimize expenses by redistributing funds to the most important areas and reducing inefficient spending.”
UPD. Ministry of Education deniedinformation on the reduction of scientists and researchers. “The Ministry has no plans to reduce scientists and researchers. From 2016, payments to academics and corresponding members of state academies of sciences were doubled, and in 2017 this level of payments will be maintained, ”Anna Usacheva, director of the department of information ministries, told reporters.
The ministry also said that the number of budget places in universities is guaranteed by the federal law “On Education in the Russian Federation”. According to this law, budget places cannot be reduced. According to Usacheva, the agency also managed to protect and index the costs of scholarships in 2017. According to the results of consideration of the program proposed by the Ministry of Education, the increase next year will be more than 1.3 billion rubles.
The head of the department said that the average monthly salary of scientists who are employed in various fields has increased by about a third over the past 3 years. The total wage growth of all workers in the scientific sphere from 2012 to 2016 was 21.5%.
In 2014, the number of scientists in Russia grew, according to Usachev. A similar trend is expected from the 2015 review. Now the Ministry of Education and Science considers the main task to increase budget financing of science and budget places.