Updated: Feb. 4, 2014
Sixty-nine educational institutions have had their licenses revoked, following an investigation by the Federal Inspection Service for Education and Science and the Prosecutor General's Office.
"In total, 69 licenses educational organizations have been struck off the register. Among them are: the Institute for Socio-Economic Development, the Stavropol Institute of Economics, the International Academy of Education, and numerous branches of the Modern University for the Humanities," a statement posted on the inspection service's website said.
Since Sept. 1, six independent universities, 17 branches of state universities and 44 branches of private educational institutions have been excluded from the register.
The announcement about revocations comes a day after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a measure changing the way the inspection service will handle violations from educational organizations, like admitting students who have not taken the Unified State Exam.
The decree allows the service to automatically terminate the licenses of organizations who are found in violation if the decision is supported by a court and the educational institution does not correct its problems, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported Monday.
The state of Russian higher education has recently been criticized for poor placements in the latest worldwide university rankings.
Update: The Modern University for the Humanities, headquartered in Moscow, said that none of its branches have been closed by the inspection service. A statement said that the branches' licenses were revoked automatically due to a lack of necessity, given the university's use of distance educational technologies.
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