OREANDA-NEWS  In the 2024/25 academic year, the cost of paid higher education in Russia may increase by an average of 10-12 percent. This was stated by Vladimir Zernov, President of the Association of Non-Governmental Universities of the Russian Federation. His words are quoted by the Izvestia newspaper.

As Zernov clarified, a number of factors will affect such dynamics, including an increase in the costs of universities (higher educational institutions) for equipment and software (software). The latter is due to the withdrawal of a number of imported suppliers and manufacturers from the Russian market, he explained.

As another important reason for the upcoming rise in the cost of paid higher education, Zernov called a significant increase in prices for electricity and housing and communal services, which did not increase in 2023. In addition, the dynamics will be driven by an increase in teachers' salaries.

Taking into account the above factors, according to the expert, non-governmental educational institutions will find themselves in the most difficult situation. It will become more difficult for them to take out loans due to rising bank interest rates, and living on borrowed funds is becoming more risky every day. Against this background, the only way out for such institutions will be to increase the cost of paid education, Zernov concluded.

The cost of higher education in Russia has been growing for several years. In the first half of August, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that tuition at leading universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg rose in price by an average of 12 percent in the 2023/24 academic year. During this time, the cost of training in the most popular areas has increased, including "information systems and technologies", "economics", "management", "computer science and computer engineering", "jurisprudence", "linguistics" and "journalism".