Vouchers, tests, loans, privatization: Will they help tackle corruption in russian higher education?

Higher education in Russia is currently being reformed. A standardized computer-graded test and educational vouchers were introduced to make higher education more accessible, fund it more effectively, and reduce corruption in admissions to public colleges. The voucher project failed and the test faces furious opposition. This paper considers vouchers, standardized tests, educational loans, and privatization as related to educational corruption. Many criticize the test for increasing educational corruption, but it is needed to replace the outdated admissions policy based on entry examinations. This paper also considers the growing de facto privatization of the nation's higher education system as a fundamental process that should be legalized and formalized. It suggests that the higher education industry should be further restructured, and decentralized and privatized, and sees educational loans as a necessary part of the future system of educational funding. © UNESCO IBE 2009.