DEVALUATION OF THE PRESTIGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS A FACTOR IN REDUCING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS STUDYING BY CORRESPONDENCE

Abstract

Higher education in Russia tends to devalue its importance in society. In the past, a person who had a higher education could count on a higher social position and a higher level of remuneration, while now self-employed citizens without education and representatives of working professions receive either the same income or an income higher than the income of those who have a higher education. Distance education has always been an alternative for those who have limited resources for full-time higher education, whether it is financial resources or time occupied by the main work. Now in Russia there is a decrease in the total number of students, as well as a decrease in the number of universities and their branches throughout the country. As it was found in the course of the study, the number of students in all forms increased by 14.6% or almost 700 thousand, and, mainly, the reduction affected those who studied by correspondence. In the context of Federal districts, it is worth highlighting the SFO, where there is the greatest reduction in the relative number of students in branches and in correspondence education. In absolute terms, the largest reduction in the number of students studying by correspondence is observed in the Central Federal district and the Volga Federal district. At the same time, there is an increase in the popularity of full-time and part-time education and a small increase in full-time students.