MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's newly sworn-in President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree to establish a network of federal universities aimed at modernizing the education system, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The decree will "contribute to the systemic modernization of higher professional education on the basis of integrating science, education, production and training qualified personnel to provide for the long-term demands of an innovative economy."
The cabinet will develop and submit to the lower house of parliament a draft federal law in two months' time outlining the procedure for setting up the federal universities and their function, including regulatory and administration methods to integrate their educational and scientific-research activity.
Russia currently has the Southern and the Siberian federal universities, established through the reorganization of several local universities.
