Penza, 30 May 2012. PenzaNews. A Roundtable on Russian educational reform took place in Penza regional committee of the Communist Party (CPRF) on Tuesday, May 29. Activists of the party, students and lecturers of Penza colleges and universities attended the event.

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Docent of Penza State University Olga Chernova noted that often lecturers learn about all reforms in Russian education from mass media but it is inadmissible.

“After the former Minister of Education of the Russian Federation signing the order about amalgamation of Penza State University (PSU) and Penza State Pedagogical University (PSPU) lecturers still don’t know how many classes they will have on their discipline and how further schedule will be formed,” informed the spokeswoman.

Besides, according to Olga Chernova, there was information about staff reduction and decreasing the quantity of state-funded places.

“New Minister of Education of Russia declared the need of state-funded places reduction in the universities. Now there are only five of them at the faculty of advertising and public relations at PSU. I don’t understand how we can further reduce the number of state-funded places. Then there will be none of them,” she noted.

Docent of PSPU Vladimir Ochkin reported that after amalgamation the employees of retirement and preretirement age would have to quit teaching at the new university.

“It seems to me that the authorities do everything to lower an education level in the country and to cheap out on youth education. It’s frightening,” he declared.

The member of bureau of regional committee of the CPRF Dmitry Filyaev noted that at first the Ministry of Education had declared that neither teachers nor students would suffer from amalgamation, however it was not so.

“We know about possible amalgamation of historical and philological faculties of PSPU and also faculty of physical training and primary education,” said the spokesman.

All the students present at the roundtable meeting said that they had been forced to sign papers about amalgamation of the two universities. Otherwise, they would have to leave the new educational institution.

At the end of the meeting, all the participants signed a resolution with requirements about inadmissibility of students’ and lectures’ rights infringement in the course of education reforms.