Concentration of students in higher education on the map of the Russian Federation

The article discusses the effects of concentration of students in the system of higher education in the regions of Russia and methodological approaches to their assessment. The issues of accessibility and inequality in higher education are increasingly being put on the agenda by a number of researchers. Historically, universities are located in large cities, new universities also follow this example, thereby enhancing the effect of concentration. The policy of the Ministry of Education and Science and Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science, aimed at combating low-quality programs and universities, has led to an increase in the concentration of universities in major cities. This fact is confirmed by the calculated Theil and Herfindahl - Hirschman indices and the coefficient of variation. Thus, we can talk about the formation of university oases and deserts. According to performed research, more than half of the territory of the Russian Federation constitutes an educational (university) desert.