Starting September 1, the government will take control of paid university admissions.

      The government will now set prices, the number of paid places, and the fields and specialties in which they are offered.

      According to Ekaterina Kharchenko, Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, the changes are aimed not at restriction but at improving the quality of education. The new approach will include competition even for paid forms of education — so that graduates are in demand in the labor market. The reform is also described as a necessary step to eliminate the imbalance between the educational and labor markets.

      Another key element of the law will be the regulation of preferential educational lending, "RIA Novosti" reported. Educational loans at a preferential interest rate will only be available for studies in priority fields defined by the government — primarily engineering, technical, and medical specialties.

      Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education, confirmed that the regulation will cover all universities and specialties, with special attention to the fields of "Economics and Management" and "Jurisprudence," where there is an oversupply that does not meet market demand.

      Thus, with the start of the new academic year, universities’ admissions for paid places will be clearly limited by legislation aimed at admitting only those students truly needed by the country.