MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Russia remains one of the leading international educational powers, and there has been no reduction in foreign students’ interest to education in Russia, says Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Dmitry Afanasyev.
"There has been no reduction; there is growing interest in Russian education, there is growing number of applicants and overall growth of contingent. Medical studies are among the leaders; at the same time, Russian language enjoys high demand, as well as engineering specialties related, from nuclear physics and technologies to agricultural studies. Humanitarian studies are popular as well, and so Russia remains one of the largest international educational powers, among the top five in terms of the contingent size," he said during a press conference, dedicated to the 2023 admission campaign.
He specified that the positive trend of increasing interest in the Russian education has been registered for five last years in a row. Today, the contingent of foreign students in Russian colleges stands at 354,000 people.
This year, Russia received 58,000 applications for 30,000 budget-funded quotas, provided by the government, compared to 48,000 applications for 23,000 quotas last year, the deputy minister said.
Afanasyev added that, apart from this quota, students from a number of countries can apply for admission in general competition under inter-governmental agreements. The third way to obtain education is paid education, and all three channels enjoy high demand, the official said.
"Which states are in the lead? Within overall trend, our nearest neighbors dominate - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan. We also have a systematic growth of applicants from Middle Eastern and African countries," he concluded.