The Russian government has unveiled a program that will allow Russian students to undertake graduate study at top foreign universities free of charge, The Moscow Timesreports.
The program, open to all students who are citizens of Russia and hold bachelor’s degrees, will provide funding for more than 1,500 students at up to 1.4 million rubles ($41,000) each, RIA Novosti reports.
In return for the financial aid, students must return to Russia after graduation and spend three years working for a Russian company. If they do not comply, they face a fine equal to three times the cost of their tuition, The Moscow Times writes, citing Russia media.
The effort is meant to help modernize Russia’s natural-resource-reliant economy. For students to qualify, they must be accepted by a top university or a medical school approved by the Health Ministry.
The government has set aside 4.4 billion rubles ($128 million) over the next four years for the scholarships, according to the newspaper.
Russia’s Education Ministry is in the process of assembling an oversight committee for the program, which will launch in the next academic year, RIA Novosti reports.
This article was originally published by Transitions Online.
