Change of households’ expenditure on preschool education, supervision and care

Full text in Russian (pdf)

No. 3 (92), 2016 Author: I. Abankina, Ya. Kozmina, E. Sivak  The Federal Law “On education in the Russian Federation” provides that preschool education is separate from services of supervision and care.

Contents

The Federal Law “On education in the Russian Federation” provides that preschool education is separate from services of supervision and care. Preschool education is free-for-all and free of charge while the services of supervision and care are to be paid for by households. The services of supervision and care include providing the payment for children’s meals, observing the daily time-table, as well as financing other domestic needs. The parents’ pay is supposed to be partially reimbursed not less than 20% for the first child, 50% for the second child and 70% for the third and more children. The payment of the reimbursement is the responsibility of a region of the Russian Federation.

On the average the parent’s payment for supervision and care at state (municipal) kindergartens in the end of 2014–beginning of 2015 was 1711 Roubles per month, while that at private kindergartens is higher – 12477 Roubles per month. The difference of the parents’ payment between state (municipal) and private kindergartens on the average exceeds 7 times. Thus parents appear to be in unequal conditions and such a significant divergence is explained not by the difference of the quality of services provided for supervision and care, but by different conditions of operation of state (municipal) and private kindergartens, by the unequal access to budget resources and high expenditure, in the first place on rent.

The current system of reimbursement of expenses for the supervision and care services is adjusted to support children irrespective of the income level of their families. Under such conditions of providing the reimbursement it is the disadvantaged families the situation of which is most vulnerable. More than half of the surveyed whose children attend state preschool education organizations are reimbursed a part of the parents’ payment. At the same time for 37% of the surveyed the reimbursement does not constitute a substantial portion of the households’ budget. Slightly over a third of the surveyed from state preschool education are not reimbursed the parents’ payment. Most parents whose children attend private preschool education organizations are not reimbursed the parents’ payment. Only a third of the surveyed get such reimbursement, at the same time only for 14% of the surveyed the reimbursement is a significant portion of the households’ budget.

To reduce the inequality a legal regulation of the mechanism of reimbursement to parents (legal representatives) whose children get an educational service and supervision and care service from different providers is required. At present the reimbursement is not provided to parents whose children attend short-stay groups at a kindergarten implementing preschool educational services, while the services of supervision and care are provided by a “non-educational” organization which is not licensed to perform the educational activity. As a rule those are private organizations rendering social services, e.g. supervision and care. Bringing closer the parents’ rights of getting the reimbursement for the supervision and care service without preschool educational services will make it possible to develop an institution of an affordable budgetary “nurse”/  In the present situation it will be an individual entrepreneur  paying taxes, a mother going to work and a child getting the individualized care and supervision from a private provider and the licensed preschool educational services at a kindergarten or at a municipal organization of additional education.

The outcomes of the monitoring of education markets and organizations revealed serious problems related with being registered for enrolment, lack of an electronic queue at some localities, citizens’ unawareness of their civil rights. It refers both those who wish their children being enrolled in a state (municipal) and in a private kindergarten.

A considerable proportion of the surveyed households indicated that they did not bear additional costs. 42% of the surveyed in state preschool education organizations do not bear additional costs related with attending a kindergarten. If there are additional expenses they are most often used to purchase books or toys for a kindergarten (30%), gifts for educators (22%), repair of premises/equipment at a kindergarten (15%), payments without indicating their purpose. The major part of children of the surveyed parents do not attend now additional studies/ Among those whose attend such studies most widespread are music, arts (drawing, modeling), theatre, dancing, etc.

The results of the first steps in implementing the federal state educational standards (FSES) display a high level of awareness of the introduction of FSES, an enhanced activity in the qualification improvement, particularly at state (municipal) preschool education organizations. An overwhelming majority of the heads who are aware of the introduction of new standards in preschool education expect that the implementation of FSES in preschool education will affect the activities of a preschool education organization. Most heads of private preschool education organizations aware of the introduction of new standards also expect that the implementation of FSES in preschool education will affect the activities of a preschool education organization, however their proportion is lower as compared with the heads of state preschool education institutions.


Prepared by I. Abankina, Ya. Kozmina, E. Sivak