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Module1. System of higher education in Russia and abroad
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MODULE1. SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN RUSSIA AND ABROAD
PART 1
PRACTICE YOUR READING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Text 1
EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Many countries consider education a major vehicle of social advancement. Training of highly qualified specialists, capable of solving the most complex problems of modern society is the main priority of higher education.
At the end of the century the system of higher and further education in our country underwent a process of great reforms. They were initiated to provide closer links between education and technological needs of industry. New goals were set to link higher education more directly to the economy, improve the quality of scientific research, provide educational and research institutions with more modern technology and new laboratory facilities.
The characteristic feature and the main trend in modern higher ad further education is not only to check students’ knowledge but develop their abilities and creative thinking. Today’s scientific and technological progress demands of the university graduates to be prepared to deepen their knowledge individually and adapt themselves quickly to the changes in the branches or science or industry they have chosen as their speciality or research. In addition to offering programs based on traditional academic disciplines, higher education must develop problem-focused programs of study that are more practical than theoretical and are oriented around problems of the real world.
Of course, university education still faces a great variety of problems, connected with implementation of new disciplines, retraining of the faculty, reorienting university policies and programs towards new goals. But if we want to prosper in the new environment of the 21st century, our universities must truly orient themselves around new goals. None of these goals will be achieved quickly and easily but the benefits of putting them in place will far exceed the efforts required.
1. Discuss the following.
1. What is the role of education in modern society? Has it changed a lot with a course of time?
2. What are current reforms in the system of higher and further education aimed at?
3. Why is it necessary to develop creative thinking? What are the ways of achieving this goal?
4. Do you agree that reforming the system of education we shouldn’t forget our national interests and values in education?
Text 2
UNIFIED STATE EXAM
This type of examination was adopted in the early 2000. It is a test which is passed at the end of the 11th form. It consists of three parts: part A contains tasks where the student has to pick out the correct answer out of several, in part B the correct answer should be written in one word, and no variants are given, and in Part C the student has to write the full solution (as in mathematics) or a composition (as in literature). The answers are written on special blanks, digitally scanned, with parts A and B being checked automatically by the computer software.
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An excellent score ranges, depending on the subject, from 65 (mathematics) to 90 (foreign language) out of 100. What’s good for students of 11th form is that now they do not have to pass both their final school exams and entrance exams at a university. The score of several subjects is summed up, this total score is the basis of accepting a student at a university. Students now also have a chance to apply at several universities and choose one after they get to know if their score is enough to enter this or that university.
U. S. – style entrance exam takes hold in Russia
In 2009, the E. G. E., or Unified State Exam (the Russian version of theAmerican SAT), in Russian language and math became mandatory for high school graduation and college entrance. Students who are planning to enter college choose a third test according to their planned major.
President Dmitri A. Medvedev is a strong supporter of the test as a part of his modernization plan and an effort to fight fraud and bribes. He said in a television interview in August 2009 that the E. G. E. is “A) directed against corruption; B) it makes the testing process much more transparent. ”
Mr. Medvedev and other officials, including Sergei B. Ivanov, the first deputy prime minister, also praised the test as a “social lift” that gives students from the provinces a fair chance to enter prestigious universities.
But there are opponents to the experiment. Sergei Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper chamber of Parliament, said last month that the E. G. E. “experiment is playing a negative role” and that Interior Ministry statistics showed that corruption in education doubled in 2009.
Academics and parents say that they see an overall drop in education standards, embodied by the E. G. E. ’s multiple-choice tests, which are the polar opposite of the oral exams and essays that were the basis of the Soviet testing system.
“We see that students can do brilliantly on the E. G. E., but they come here and don’t know a lot”, said Yevgenia Petrova, who has taught at Saratov State University for nearly 50 years. At State Educational Institution Educational Centre No. 109, students are preparing for the E. G. E. and they are not at all opposed to it. “The idea is not bad”, said Maria Zamyatina, 15. “It just needs improvements”.
(adapted from the International Herald Tribune)
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