Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for a restructure of Russian universities could lead to as many as 20% of the country’s 600 universities and 30%–35% of their 1,400 branches closing or merging within the next two to three years. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, the government was slated to provide a proposal to the Russian parliament on August 7 and intends to finalize an official restructuring plan by May 2013. The Ministry said that by the end of 2012, the government will conclude assessments of benchmarks such as admissions procedures, alumni competitiveness and R&D at universities and branches. The findings will result in shutdowns of universities in 2013–2014, after which time the government will merge universities to strengthen scientific and research programs. Some sources expect the cost of the plan to be billions of Russian rubles. Some analysts fear that favoritism and the desire to profit may impact which schools are closed or consolidated.

Source: University World News