Students Protest Against Closure of Their “Inefficient” University

Students at the Russian State University of Trade and Economics have organized a sit-in to protest against a government plan to shut down their university, which was included in a “list of inefficient colleges.” The Russian Students’ Union anticipates similar protests across the country.
The Ministry of Education and Science, which ordered the controversial evaluation of universities, agreed to talk with the protesters on Wednesday, promising to pass on the students' demands to Minister Dmitry Livanov. The protesters plan to continue their sit-in until the evaluation results are invalidated.
Of the 502 universities evaluated on the basis of their students’ average score upon admission, proportion of foreign students, available educational infrastructure and so on, 136 were deemed “inefficient.” Some have been given a chance to improve while others will either be shut down or merged with other universities.
Sergei Baburin, Rector of the Trade and Economics University, published a letter accusing the ministry of manipulating the evaluation results. The student council supported the rector and announced a sit-in, occupying a lecture hall at night after lectures end at 6 p.m. Read more...