Donetsk, Dec 5 - DAN. Some 4,000 students of Donetsk People’s Republic higher education institutions have got Russian diplomas since 2015, the Republic’s Education and Science Minister Larisa Polyakova told a news briefing at Donetsk News Agency on Tuesday.

“About 4,000 DPR students have received Russian-type diplomas over three years, including some 1,500 students since the beginning of this year,” Polyakova said. ”Diplomas of various high education levels are issued to students throughout the academic year.”

Graduates defended their theses both at Russian partner universities and video conferences from Donetsk. In 2016, 1,014 higher vocational education students received their diplomas in DPR. Russian universities diplomas were first issued to Donbass graduates in 2015. *jk