The Russian system

The Russian system of education has always differed from the European system. However, nowadays it is beginning to change and absorbing the features of the education in Europe and USA. 

The stages of schooling in Russia are:

• Pre-schooling education
• Primary and secondary school education for ages 7-17
• High education

After Finishing the 9-th form pupils have two ways: they can go onto a vocational school which offer programs of academic subjects and  programs of training in a technical field, or a profession. Or they can finish 11 forms and into higher education. Primary and secondary school together comprise 1 years of study. 

Pre-school education of kindergartens and crèches(ясли). It is not compulsory but it is a very important stage as children get used to communicating and get first lessons of socializing. Moreover, they learn reading, writing and arithmetic.

School education.  School education is compulsory. There are various types of schools: general secondary schools, schools specializing in a certain subject, high schools, lyceums and so on. Tuition in most of them is free of charge, but some new types of schools are fee-paying. The term of study in a general secondary school is 11 years and consists of primary, middle and upper stages. At the middle stage of a secondary school the children learn the basic laws of nature and society at the lessons of history, algebra, literature, physics and many others. After 9th form pupils have to sit for examinations. Also they have a choice between entering the 10th grade of a general secondary school and enrolling in a specialized secondary or vocational school. In the 11-th form the pupils take the state exam on the definite subjects on the result of which they can apply for definite higher establishments.

School education is The main link in the system of education because it prepares the younger generation for life and work in modern production.

Higher Education

Higher education is provided by public and non-public (non-State) accredited higher education institutions. There are two levels of higher education:

• Basic higher education (4 years) leading to the Bakalavr's degree, the first university level degree. This is equivalent to the B.Sc. degree in the US or Western Europe
• Postgraduate higher education (5-6 years or more). After two years, students are entitled to receive a Magistr's degree. This is equivalent to a Master's Degree (M.Sc, M.A.) in the US or Western Europe. After a Master's degree, students can continue to study towards a doctoral degree: Kandidat Nauk degree (the first level, equivalent to Ph.D.) and Doktor Nauk degree (the second, highest level, equivalent to Professor).

Higher education can offer something even more significant than the degree itself – and that is the experience of working in an environment at a level that only a University setting can provide.

Education is not a branch of the economy, and neither the educational process, nor its ultimate purposes, nor its results or 'production', are comparable with those of the economy. It is in itself a vital function, an essential sector of society and a condition of society's existence. Without it there is no society. It has at one and the same time cultural, social, economic, civic and ethical functions. It concerns the whole of society and its various sectors, which all need it. It ensures the continuity of society, and passes on the knowledge and skills, the norms developed and the experience accumulated by humanity over the course of its history. It trains the capacities which enable society to move ahead, to progress, to innovate and to change, including in the economic sphere.