In Russia, due to changes in the economy, the emergence of new forms of ownership and structural changes in society, secondary specialized education is also undergoing dramatic changes. Two mutually exclusive trends are observed here. The first is the elimination of the old system of vocational education, which includes: planned recruitment of students, centralized programming, compulsory distribution and compulsory testing. This is due primarily to the fact that federal funding has sharply decreased and was transferred to the subjects of the Federation.
The second trend is associated with the creation of a new system of secondary vocational education for the implementation of which educational institutions of a new type will be required, new curricula, and so on, but most importantly, secondary specialized education will receive a new status and become a full part of the country's education.
Now secondary vocational education in Russia is going through difficult times, we can say that it simply survives. Therefore, in the framework of a secondary specialized institution, specialists of different levels are being trained at the same time, that is, colleges open general education departments and thus perform the role of a comprehensive school, that is, in one educational institution one can receive both primary education and secondary special education. To train specialists of different levels, differentiated training periods are used.
In many countries of the world, higher education can be obtained in two ways: prestigious - at the university, and less prestigious - at the college. Some Russian prestigious secondary professional institutions have also taken this path, having obtained a license giving the right to implement bachelor-level programs, that is, integration of universities and colleges is taking place.
Thus, secondary special education loses an inferiority raid and gets a new status. It is assumed that in the future it will be the most massive and promising part of the education system in Russia. This direction is considered the most promising, since in the near future an increase in demand for higher education among young people is expected, with which state universities are unlikely to cope. But all these changes do not always contribute to the quality training of specialists. To correct this situation should help pedagogy of secondary vocational education, which is currently not given due attention.
In connection with a decrease in federal funding, educational institutions introduce paid services to raise additional funds, without which it is impossible to improve the quality of graduates. The growing interest of youth and parents in both budget and paid forms of education indicates the ever-increasing popularity of higher education.
In Russia there are two levels of secondary vocational education - basic and advanced. Educational programs corresponding to the basic level are implemented in technical schools or colleges, and educational programs of both basic and advanced levels are carried out in colleges. Higher education institutions can also implement educational programs of secondary vocational education.
Educational programs of secondary vocational education include both the federal component, which determines the state requirements for the minimum level of training of graduates, and the national-regional component.
Applicants enter secondary specialized schools on the basis of entrance examinations and according to their results.