MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Some 37% of universities and their branches in Russia have switched to e-learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov said on Sunday.

"Thirty-seven percent of higher education establishments and their branches have completely switched to online learning. To be more precise, 478 (out of 1,287) higher education establishments and their branches," he said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station.

Moscow-and St. Petersburg-based universities and other higher learning establishments were switched to distance learning for a period from November 13 to February 6, 2021. The ministry recommended universities in regions to do the same.