The Governor of the Rostov Region, Yuri Slyusar, congratulated the first‑year students on a successful start in university life and noted the high results of school graduates from the Rostov Region in the Unified State Exam. According to him, such achievements testify not only to the students’ personal abilities but also to the high‑quality work of the region’s education system. He stressed that the Don universities are ready to provide talented young people with all the opportunities for professional and scientific growth and urged the first‑year students to actively participate in the research and public life of the universities.

The event was attended by the rector of the Southern Federal University, Inna Shevchenko. Following the meeting, she shared that the university’s task is to maintain a high standard of quality in education and research so that talented school graduates do not move to Moscow and St. Petersburg but stay in Rostov.

Out of 254 high‑scoring students from the Rostov region, 60 chose universities in the Don region. The largest number of talented first‑year students — 31 people — were enrolled at Southern Federal University. SFedU also admitted high‑scoring students from neighbouring regions, for example, 15 people from the Krasnodar Territory. In total, 48 students scored 100 points and were admitted to Southern Federal University.

In 2026, 61,417 participants took the Unified State Exam in the Rostov Region, of whom 53,945 graduates met the minimum threshold. 7,579 people scored at least 80 points, and 254 scored 100 points. 23 graduates achieved two top scores, and 4 achieved three top scores.

Compared to 2025, the share of high‑scoring results increased from 9 to 12 percent. The number of students who scored 100 points in Russian was 62 — the highest figure in the last 10 years. In biology, 11 graduates received 100 points, and in chemistry — 32, which is also the best result since 2016. In total, 70 percent of the 2026 graduates enrolled in higher education institutions in the Rostov region.