BBC investigation shows that Russia is steering more ninth-graders into trade schools — and toward the army

Meduza reports on a BBC investigation showing that Russia is steering more ninth-graders into vocational colleges rather than continuing to university-track secondary school. The shift accelerated in twenty twenty-two, Russia's first year of full-scale invasion of Ukraine—when, according to the Higher School of Economics, more than half of ninth graders chose vocational college over tenth grade. The trend has kept climbing. Moscow authorities have made their preference clear: students applying to vocational colleges now take only two standardized exams instead of four. Government officials, including the Moscow mayor, have publicly cited demand for blue-collar workers. But the policy carries serious consequences. Young men in vocational college face heightened military draft risk—Russian law allows just one educational deferment after high school, and using it during college leaves no protection later. Getting into university after vocational college is also significantly harder in practice. Schools are cutting upper-grade places due to expensive new requirements for specialized academic tracks, and the remaining spots often go to students whose parents have connections or resources to navigate the system.

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