The Quality of Education as a Primary Concern of the Sustainable Development

The quality of higher education aimed at solving problems of the sustainable development in economy and society is considered in this article. The goal of the sustainable development is to ensure high quality level of life for the present day and future generations. Education plays a significant role in achievement of this goal. The task of education is to develop the comprehensive knowledge in all the elements of the sustainable development, such as: ecology, economy, social sphere, and the ways of their effective interaction. This article contains the results of the research in this area obtained by the scientists of the Management Department of the Ogarev Mordovia State University while preparing for the international conference “Lifelong Education for the Sustainable Development”. The surveys conducted among schoolchildren, students, teachers, employers and the representatives of the state authorities in several regions of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Mordovia, the Novosibirsk, Tambov, Penza, Moscow regions) allowed studying the public opinion on the quality of higher education in Russia and its compliance with the modern and future needs of the economy and society, on the necessity of permanent education, defining the ways of the further development and improvement of higher education in Russia for the benefit of the sustainable development. The study is funded by the Ogarev Mordovia State University.