Soviet Tuition

When the Soviet Union adopted its new Constitution four years ago, it provided free schooling for every qualified youngster from kindergarten through university. In Russia's 550 colleges, students got not only free tuition but a salary of 100 to 200 rubles ($20 to $40) a month. Last week a Government decree changed the Constitution: high-school and college students were required to pay tuition. Rates: from 150 to 400 rubles a year.

The Government's explanation: 1) workers' incomes had risen so that they could afford to pay; 2) Government expenses (i.e., for war) had risen too. Still free are special technical schools, where the Soviet Union last week announced it would train a conscripted labor army of about 1,000,000 youths a year for industrial defense work.

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