Reducing the number of groups with Russian as the language of instruction compels the students to give up the intention of studying in the higher education establishments on the right bank of the Nistru River, Natalia Morari, vice-president of the Association of Students from Transnistria ASTRA, told today a news conference. According to the cited source, for now the number of students didn’t fall down significantly, but a tendency towards this is already noticed. To avoid it, ASTRA will organise courses for studying the official language free of charge. On July, the Government decided to assign 480 extra budget places for studying in the country’s higher education institutions to the students from the eastern region. However, the president of ASTRA, Irina Dolodova, is worried that this news could reach the students too late, since the decision was made only after the first admission cycle was over. ASTRA couldn’t offer any information about the number of students from Transnistria who study on the right side of the Nistru River, explaining that this information will be made public only in September. 900 students from Transnistria are ASTRA members.