In Russia, schools are refusing en masse to admit students to 10th grade
In Russia, parents of schoolchildren from various regions are reporting widespread refusals to enroll their children in 10th grade. According to them, students with average or even good academic performance are being directed to colleges and vocational schools, a move that aligns with the Russian government’s policy of training more blue-collar workers.
According to Russian media reports, a resident of Novosibirsk said that her daughter, who attended School No. 211, was denied admission to the 10th grade because she was one point short on her report card and on her basic state exam scores required to enter a specialized class. During a parent-teacher meeting, the teaching staff advised families to start looking for colleges in advance, warning that only a small portion of ninth-graders would be admitted to high school.
According to the woman, she received a similar response at other educational institutions, where the refusal was explained by a lack of available spots. At her school alone, approximately 200 ninth-grade graduates were not admitted to the 10th grade.
Similar complaints are also coming in from Izhevsk, Yekaterinburg, Kemerovo, and other cities. In particular, in Kemerovo, one student was denied continued enrollment despite good grades and successfully passed exams, on the grounds that he “did not pass the individual selection process.” In Izhevsk, parents were told the refusal was because their child would allegedly have difficulty studying in high school.
This wave of incidents has arisen against the backdrop of a government policy aimed at increasing the number of workers in blue-collar professions. In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to train approximately one million skilled workers for industry by 2028 and to modernize the vocational education system in line with labor market needs.
Subsequently, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed numerous instances of unjustified refusals to allow students to advance to the 10th grade. In many cases, this was explained by the fact that instruction is provided only in specialized classes with in-depth study of specific subjects, while there are not enough general-education classes in schools.
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education states that the country has a surplus of people with higher education. The head of the ministry, Valery Falkov, emphasized that the mass pursuit of higher education no longer meets the needs of the Russian economy, which, according to government estimates, is experiencing an acute shortage of workers in blue-collar professions.
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