A few months ago, a scandal broke out in one of the Russian cities related to the verification of higher education institutions by the Ministry of Education. The unification of universities in Samara threw many students, teachers and parents into shock, because they believed that all three institutions justify themselves 100%.
How did it all start?
In February 2015, the authorities of the Samara region announced their intention to combine the three higher educational institutions into one. They were not at all embarrassed by the fact that we are talking about the three oldest institutions in the region, each of which has its own history, scientific school and tradition.
The combination of the three universities in Samara, according to authorities, will help all institutions to get rid of the financial problems that have arisen and reach a self-sustaining level. The leadership of all higher education institutions opposed the association and formed a response letter to the regional authorities, not forgetting to send a copy to the President of the Russian Federation - V.V. Putin.
Who will be united?
The unification of universities in Samara, the list of which includes SSAU (aerospace university), SamSU (state) and SamSTU (technical), can jeopardize education in the entire region, university leaders say. The governor of the region explained that SSAU is currently one of the 15 leading universities in the country, so it has the right to apply for additional funding.
But the remaining two educational institutions receive less money, and if the merger is carried out, the SSAU will be able to improve performance and receive more funding, some of which will go to support the existence of other universities. The governor also fears that SamSU will not be able to maintain its position as one of the higher schools in Russia due to the reform, which was announced by the Ministry of Education and Science in the summer of 2014. According to her, postgraduate and graduate programs will remain only in the strongest universities in the country, and SamSU because of its low rates does not apply to them.
First reaction
Teachers, students and parents are outraged by the situation. University leaders fully support them. Each university has its own foundations, habits and traditions, say admissions officers. According to them, even the contingent that enters three universities is fundamentally different from each other.
According to media reports, the initiator of the event, called “The Association of Three Universities of Samara,” is Merkushin, the governor of the Samara Region. There is a hypothesis that this is only a temporary measure, and as soon as the situation in the country returns to normal, the universities will again disperse, but no one believes this and does not plan to agree to the union.
Situation development
In April 2015, it became known that SamSTU will continue to function as a separate university. But the SSAU and SamSU will still be combined, and on the basis of the first institution, the second will simply be abolished. Such a union of universities in Samara, reviews of which were already unflattering, only spurred the dissatisfaction of citizens.
Representatives of Samara State Technical University are not supporters of such an association, which they have repeatedly stated in the media. To solve this issue, a special working group was created, which after a brief review of the situation approved the proposed scheme for optimizing universities.
Minister of education
The governor of the region met with the Minister of Education Dmitry Livanov and discussed this issue. The unification of universities in Samara, according to the minister, is possible, but without the participation of Samara State Technical University. Nevertheless, it is planned that SamSTU will nevertheless later become part of the two combined universities, however, when this happens, it is not known.
The leadership of educational institutions does not comment on this situation, however, in the spring of 2015, the academic councils of SamSU and SSAU supported the initiative to unite universities. Thus, the only university that officially disagrees with the association is SamSTU, all remaining ones will be united in one way or another.
Opinions of citizens
The unification of universities in Samara (the opinions of citizens and authorities are very controversial) is a problem that has many fundamental nuances. Representatives of the employers' union note that by combining it will be possible to achieve a synergistic effect when departments and universities interact with each other most closely, and this will be much more useful. In their opinion, with the help of such a measure, it will also be possible to establish interaction between universities, business and schools.
Some deputies note that the connection of even two universities is wrong, not to mention three. They believe that a split within one university will exist for many decades, and it is unlikely that a unified educational institution will develop. SSAU, in their opinion, should not be regarded as a university at all, since it received this status only because of its prestige, and in fact remains the same institution as before.
The reaction of teachers
Some officials suggest that the incident has its own reasons, and, commenting on the unification of the three universities of Samara (with which this is connected, in particular), they say that we can talk about an order from other regions. In June, the governor visited SamSU, where he spoke for a very long time about the benefits of the association.
As a result, a noisy scandal erupted due to the fact that one of the university professors did not clap for the governor after completing his speech, but stated bluntly that he had been working here for 45 years and did not expect anything good from the prospect of a merger. According to the politician Mikhail Matveev, this is the only person who openly fights against the merger of the two universities, all the others have long come to terms with the inevitability.
The rally
The unification of universities in Samara even led to a rally that took place in early July. Deputy of the Samara Duma Mikhail Matveev, who is actively fighting against the unification of universities, noted that the rally, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by more than 500 citizens. The press service of the regional GU Ministry of Internal Affairs notes that no more than 150 people took part in the rally.
The protesters demanded that the authorities cancel the accession of SamSU to the SSAU and asked to stop this optimization process until it was too late. Political slogans also sounded from the crowd, in particular, there were those who demanded the resignation of the governor of the region, calling him incompetent in matters of education and management.
Activists
Teachers and students even after explaining all the advantages do not agree to the unification of universities in Samara. They are the ones who have the idea to collect signatures for the country's leadership with a request to keep all three institutions as independent units. The creators of the petition noted in it that each university has its own unique history. Total petition collected more than 20 thousand signatures.
At the end of June, Dmitry Livanov, who holds the post of Minister of Science and Education, signed an order to merge SamSU and SSAU on the basis of the latter. Whether the petition will influence this decision is still unknown, however, students and teachers are ready to go all the way and ensure that universities remain in their places.
Combining pros
According to the leadership of the region, as an obvious plus, it should be considered that through the merger it will be possible to achieve higher rates and increase funding. Among other things, the prestige of SSAU diplomas is highly valued all over the world, so students of a united university will have much more opportunities to find work not only in Russia but also abroad.
Also, as an obvious plus, the opportunity to save using the same infrastructure stands out. According to the authorities, if two universities are located in the same room, this will significantly save energy costs and maintenance of buildings. The released funds can be spent on current needs.
Cons Cons
But the minuses are often said by university employees and students than the government. In their opinion, the unification will inevitably entail a reduction in the teaching staff. As a result, for small salaries, the remaining teachers will have to bear the double burden, and the quality of the education provided in this case will be very low.
Students are also afraid of a similar situation, especially for those who receive education on a budgetary basis. After the unification of universities, part of the budget places will be reduced, which means that education will only be possible on a paid basis, which not everyone can afford.