Half of young Russians believe that the system of tertiary education abroad is better than at home, a recent poll revealed. In total, one out of three people knows someone who studied abroad.

Education in Russia and abroad: What Russians think

Studying abroad is a viable option for students from Russia, with countries such as Germany offering free university education for all students, including international entrants.

If one really wants to study abroad, it’s possible for Russians, and many people are doing it.

WCIOM, the All Russian Centre of Public Opinion Studies, asked about the attitudes of locals towards foreign degrees and how they think they compare with local option.

• Among all respondents, the quality of educational system of Russia is seen as “rather average” (39%).
• 20% of respondents evaluate it as “rather low”.
• 19% view it as “rather high”.
• Only 9% marked it as “very low” and 3% as “very high”.

The question of comparing the local standards with the ones abroad was the most difficult to answer: 36% of respondents were unable to do it.

Among those who answered this question, 27% thought that the system abroad was better, while 26% ticked the option “the same”. 11% think that the education abroad is worse. In the group of 18-24 year olds, 52% believe it’s better to study in another country rather than in Russia.

Are Russians eager to send kids to study in another country?

Apparently, not: 74% of respondents said they never thought about it. 78% stated it’s unimportant to them that the kids get a degree in Europe or overseas.

At the same time, 33% of respondents have a family member, a friend, a colleague, or an acquaintance who studied abroad.

So, foreign education is not such a foreign subject for Russians. There are many Eastern European women who live or study in other countries. Some of them you can even meet here on EM!

All in all, people from Russia don’t view local universities or colleges as low grade. They feel that tertiary education at home is of comparable standards to foreign options.

 Data: WCIOM.ru

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