Russian MP seeks university admission perks for young mothers

A member of the Russian parliament’s upper chamber, Andrey Kutepov, has proposed simplifying admission to universities for female applicants with children, TASS news agency reported earlier this week.

According to the lawmaker, who heads the Committee on Economic Policy in the Federation Council, Russian universities should award additional points to women who have given birth within a year of applying.

”Having children is proposed to be considered an individual achievement for which it is necessary to accrue the maximum number of additional points for the exam results,” the senator said in a written proposal addressed to Education Minister Valery Falkov.

According to Kutepov, if adopted, the measure would be one more step in “ensuring opportunities for women with children to receive higher education.”

“In addition, the move will be one of the steps towards improving the status of families with children,” Kutepov suggested, adding that the measure would help support the birth rate in the country, as well as further lowering the abortion rates.

The senator noted that the government has recently taken a number of steps to boost the birth rate, including providing the opportunity for female students who have a child while enrolled to switch from having to pay for their education to being able to access state subsidies.

Earlier this year, the Russian Education Ministry proposed introducing a monthly social scholarship amounting to minimum wage for university students with preschool children.