Russia quits Bologna education system

All Russian universities were excluded from the Bologna system of education, Russia's Deputy Head of the Ministry of Education and Science Dmitry Afanasyev said.

"On April 11, the Bologna Group announced a decision to cease representation of Russia and the Republic of Belarus in all structures of the Bologna Process,” Afanasiev said at the meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, TASS reports.

Russia's educational organizations were excluded from the Bologna Process after the heads of Russian educational institutions signed a petition from the Russian Union of Rectors supporting the special operation in Ukraine, the official said.

Earlier, Valery Falkov, the Minister for Education and Science, said that Russia pulled out from the Bologna system of education due to the new realities in which the country found itself. In addition, the implementation of this education process did not yield certain results regarding the quality of education, he added. 

The Bologna system of education is a concept adopted in educational space of leading European countries that signed the Bologna Declaration in 1999.

• The Bologna process unites 48 states. Russia joined it in 2003, after which a two-level education system began to take shape in the country — bachelor's degree (four years) and master's degree (two years).
• Prior to that, Russian students would study only within the framework of specialist's degree — they would receive a diploma after five or six academic years. This form still exists in a number of areas and universities, but the members of the Bologna Process, as a rule, equate Russian specialists with bachelors.
• The Bologna system makes it possible to become a bachelor in one special field, and graduate from a master's degree in another. The idea is to give students an opportunity to combine knowledge from various fields and choose a profession at the intersection of the mastered specialties.
• In addition to the bachelor-master system, participation in the Bologna Process implies that the participating countries recognize each other's diplomas and ensure academic exchange between teachers and students.