Minsk resident ordered to pay 15-fold compensation for education

A college graduate decided to compensate for the education to avoid the so called first-job placement, which is compulsory for students studying at the cost of the state, but was shocked by the sum she was to pay.

Charter97.org has learnt it from reader Alena.

“My daughter graduated from a college last year and decided to continue her education abroad. Her course at the college costs 4 million rubles this year. We decided to pay the state for her education and were charged with a sum of 154 million rubles. My daughter was admitted to the college after the 9th form. If students were allowed to pay tuition fees, we would have paid only 10 million for four years of studying. Graduates of the 11th form, who were admitted to the second year programme, had an opportunity to study on a fee-paying basis. They paid 8 million for three years,” she says.

According to the reader, she began to figure out why the compensation size was so big. The Ministry of Agriculture said the college owned halls of residence and the agricultural vehicles fleet.

“The college is located in Smilavichy. My daughter didn't live in the hall of residence. Her course has nothing in common with agricultural vehicles and their maintenance. As I have learnt, students from other towns, some of them with families, extramural students, college employees with families and the people who have no relation to the college live in the hall of residence. We have to pay for it. We have a court hearing on June 9. It's most likely that my daughter will be obliged to pay the whole sum. She cannot do it, because she is a student. She doesn't have incomes or property that the court can seize,” Alena notes.

It's worth noting that it is not the first case of cheating by the state. The Council of Ministers issued a decree during the 2011 devaluation, under which graduates are not allowed to pay the sum, which the state spent on their education. A special “adjusting coefficient” was invented for such students. It is calculated by dividing the average monthly cost of training a student in the last calendar year of studying by the average monthly cost of training a student for the whole period of study.