Russian MPs propose new funding for African students

An appeal has been sent to the government, along with plans to attract more applicants from the continent

Russian lawmakers have provided the nation’s government with proposals on funding to support students from African countries, RIA Novosti reported on Friday, citing State Duma Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov.

According to Babakov, the MPs also laid out strategies to increase awareness about Russian universities’ educational programs among prospective applicants from the continent. These include information from Russia’s agency for international cooperation, Rossotrudnichestvo.

“Deputies and experts have appealed to the Russian government with proposals to create mechanisms to finance and support educational programmes aimed at training personnel for African countries, including scholarships and grants for students from Africa,” the politician stated.

He said the MPs had also suggested including representatives from educational institutions on committees that review the admissions of African applicants for the intergovernmental quota to study in Russia. They proposed allocating slots to top African organizations, as well as collaboration with Russian companies on the continent to provide training and internships for students and young professionals.

Babakov announced plans to organize a humanitarian forum titled “Russia-Africa: From implemented projects to new achievements” in 2025, with the goal of strengthening ties while promoting mutual cooperation between Moscow and the continent. The gathering is expected to cover a variety of topics, including culture, sports, and education, as well as tourism, diaspora partnerships, and the women’s issue.

The move comes at a time when African students, particularly those from Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Mali, and Chad, are showing increasing interest in studying in Russia, according to Rossotrudnichestvo.

Last month, the federal agency for international cooperation told Izvestia newspaper that African candidates had submitted more than 14,000 applications for the 2024-2025 academic year alone.

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In March, Pavel Shevtsov, deputy director of Rossotrudnichestvo, reported that medicine, economics, energy, and construction were the most popular fields among the thousands of international applicants who enter Russian universities every year.

The majority of these students are said to have applied through the Russian government’s education quota program, which offers free tuition, subsidized dormitory accommodation, and stipends. During the Russia-Africa summit in July 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the number of scholarships for African students sponsored by the federal budget had increased by 150% in the previous three years and would support more than 4,700 people in 2024.