The current study addresses the issues of education and self-education of nurturant students in the transition to distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic, considering the purposeful and rational nature of this phenomenon, substantiates the need to manage this process; attention is focused on the fact that the educational system of universities should be responsible not only for training but also for upbringing, for the development of the creative potential of the individual, for the formation of professional skills; the possibility of changing the format of training is analysed based on their equipment of teachers with methodological developments and recommendations, modified programs prepared in accordance with the nature of the discipline; the authors note that distance education of artistic and pedagogical students should be aimed at the formation of professional skills based on the "live" interaction of the subjects of the educational process.