NON-STATE ACTORS IN EDUCATION
2.2 Non-state education provision
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
- Early childhood care and preschool education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Primary general, basic general and secondary general education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Vocational secondary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
According to the article 22:4 of the Federal Law on Education in the Russian Federation (MO, 2012/2020, FZ-273; hereafter Law on Education) an educational institution can be state, municipal or private. “Private” is defined as “an educational organization established by an individual or group of individuals, by a legal entity or an association thereof, except for foreign religious organizations” (article 22:7).
In accordance with paragraph 20 of Article 2 of the Law on Education individual entrepreneurs carrying out educational activities are equated to organizations carrying out educational activities.
Paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that a citizen has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity from the moment of state registration as an individual entrepreneur, which means acts of the authorized federal executive body, carried out by entering into state registers information on the acquisition of status by individuals an individual entrepreneur (part two of article 1 of the Federal Law of August 8, 2001 No. 129-FZ "On state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs").
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Federal State Statistic Service use the term “non-state education” instead of “private” in their statistical reports.
2.1 State education provision
State schools
Article 43 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees general access to and free preschool, basic general and vocational secondary education in state or municipal educational establishments and enterprises and the right, on a competitive basis, to receive a free higher education free of charge in a state or municipal educational establishment and enterprise.
Moreover, in accordance with Article 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the listing in the Constitution of the Russian Federation of fundamental rights and freedoms should not be interpreted as rejection or derogation other universally recognized human rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
Part 3 of Article 5 of the Federal Law on Education guarantees the general availability and free of charge in accordance with the federal state educational standards of preschool, primary general, basic general and secondary general education, vocational secondary education, and also on a competitive basis, free of charge higher education if a citizen receives a higher education of this level for the first time.
According to the federal statistical observation form No. 00-2 "Information on the material and technical and information base, financial and economic activities of the general educational organization" for 2020 (hereinafter - the FSN form No. OO-2 for 2020), most of education in Russia is managed and funded by the state. In 2020, 97.3% of the funds of state organizations came from the budgets of all levels, and 99.1% of students were enrolled in primary and general secondary education programs provided by the state or municipalities programs.
Non-state managed, state schools
No information was found.
Non-state funded, state schools
While there are no specific non-state funded public schools, it is important to note that public schools are allowed to generate resources by providing paid educational services (see Multi-level regulations). The costs for additional educational services within a school vary depending on the level of education and type of school. According to the FSN form No. OO-2, in 2020 public secondary schools received 2.0% of funds from paid services to the population. Among other financial sources were own funds of organizations (0.4%), extra-budgetary funds (0.3%) and funds from abroad (0.003%). However, the overall percentage of these funds amounted to less than 1%.
2.2 Non-state education provision
Independent, non-state schools
Most of the non-state education in Russia is made up of private schools, although their share in the total number of schools remains insignificant (2.2%), where 143.8 thousand students study (0.9%). However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of private schools has steadily increased from 525 private schools in 1995 to 885 in 2020.
Private schools in Russia vary in size (the average number of students is smaller than in the public sector), specialization (confessional, national, schools with advanced studies in certain subject(s), schools for gifted children etc.) and cost (elite, low-cost, and free) (HSE, 2019). There are schools available only for children whose parents work in the head organization (e.g., Gazprom school) and schools without any special selection criteria (e.g., Tochka Budushchego [The Point of Future]).
In 2020, the share of students in private schools in the humanities profile was 67.0% of the number of students studying in-depth subjects, in public schools - 47.0% (according to the FSN form No.OO-1). On the other hand, in-depth education in a mathematical profile in public schools is more popular than in private ones (attendance is 15.5%, in private - 5.0%).
The Law on Education provides for the possibility for religious organizations and foreign actors to establish and run educational institutions in Russia (see Multi-level regulations). However, statistical information on religious and international schools was not found.
Statistical reports indicate also that there exist large disparities in access to private schooling between rural and urban areas, and between different regions. Overall, more than half (52%) of non-state educational institutions are concentrated in 7 (out of 85) constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Moreover, in 2020, the overwhelming majority of private schools (793) were located in urban areas, where 131.2 thousand students received general education. Meanwhile, in rural areas there were only 92 private schools, in which 12.6 thousand students studied (data of the FSN form No. OO-1). State funded (government-aided), non-state schools
State-funded (government-aided), non-state schools
The Law on Education stipulates for state support of private educational institutions, which have a state accreditation, by means of providing them with subsidies (for more information see section Taxes and subsidies under Multi-level regulations). For example, in 2020, the state covered 24.3% of the total expenses of non-state / private educational organizations (data from the FSN form No. OO-2).
Contracted, non-state schools
No information was found.
2.3 Other types of schools
Homeschooling
Education in Russia can be received in the form of family education and, starting with the secondary level, as self-education. A combination of intramural and extramural forms of receiving education is also permitted by the article 17:1 of the Law on Education.
Unregistered/Unrecognised
According to Article 17 of the Law on Education in the Russian Federation, education can be obtained in organizations carrying out educational activities, outside organizations carrying out educational activities (in the form of family education and self-education).
At the same time, training in organizations carrying out educational activities is carried out in full-time, part-time or part-time form taking into account the needs, capabilities of the individual and depending on the volume of compulsory classes of a teacher with students.
Education in the form of family education and self-education is carried out with the right to further undergo intermediate and state final examination in organizations carrying out educational activities.
For children who have chosen family or a combination of intra- and extramural forms of education there exist the so-called non-schools, or family schools. Such “schools” are not licenced and, thus, not officially recognized; nor are they captured by official statistics. According to their website, non-schools exist primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, have different pedagogies (e.g., Montessori, Walldorf) and vary in cost.
Market contracted (Voucher schools)
No information was found.
According to the Law on Education, the responsibility for establishing, management and operation of educational institutions in the Russian Federation is distributed between federal, regional and local bodies. Federal bodies (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science) determine education policy and are responsible for the creation of HEIs, licensing and accreditation of higher education, branches of foreign educational organizations, developing and implementing national educational programs, monitoring quality of education, etc. (article 6).
Regional and local bodies are responsible for the establishment, reorganization and liquidation of educational institutions, ensuring the access to pre-primary, primary and general secondary and vocational secondary education in state institutions and providing subsidies to private pre-primary educational institutions (articles 8 and 9).
Besides this, official religious organizations are foreign actors are involved in establishing, licensing and operating confessional and international educational organizations respectively (see below).
Vision: The government declares its support for the development of the non-state education sector. In particular, it was a part of the state program of education development for 2013-2020.
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
Pre-primary education in Russia can be received at educational institutions (e.g., kindergarten) or outside them in the form of family education. It is also possible to combine intra- and extramural forms (Law on Education, article 17).
Over the past decade, the number of private ECCE organizations has grown almost 10 times. In part, this is a result of government initiatives (presidential decree № 599 from 2012), aiming at improving the access to pre-primary education.
In 2020, there are 1.15 thousand private organizations in Russia that carry out educational activities in educational programs for preschool education, childcare and supervision (including preschool educational organizations undergoing overhaul) (2.4% of all preschool institutions). In 2020, 107.2 thousand children (1.4%) studied in them.
As indicated in the report (ACG, 2018), the most popular forms of non-state preschool education are family preschool groups (2.3 thousand in 2017), counseling centers (11731; according to article 64 of the Education Law, such centers provide counseling support to parents, whose children do not attend a preschool institution) and preschool groups in other educational institutions (for example, on the basis of a university for parents studying at this university).
In general, preschool and primary education in 2019 accounts for 13.1% of the total share of household spending on education (NRU HSE, 2021, p. 102).
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: According to article 8 of the Law on Education, regional and local governments are responsible for providing subsidies to private educational institutions of pre-primary, primary general, basic general, secondary general education, which have a state accreditation (8:6). These subsidies are based on standard regional and local rates (8:3) calculated by the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 8 of the Law on Education and may cover expenditures on salaries, textbooks, tutorials, games and toys. Private institutions are not allowed to use state subsidies for the maintenance of buildings as well as for payment of utility bills (8:3). For more information, see Multi-level regulations.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: Article 12:6 of the Law on Education stipulates that institutions of pre-primary education develop their curricula independently but in compliance with state standards for preschool education. For more information, see Multi-level regulations.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: According to article 65 of the Law on Education, the fee is set by the founder of the pre-primary educational institution. There are additional regulations regarding fee-setting in state and municipal pre-schools, but not for private ones.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies for vulnerable groups: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Child assessment: No information was found.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): While no specific regulations on WASH were found, article 41 of the Law on Education, article 41, requires educational institutions to ensure security and protection of students’ health.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: Private schools receive subsidies from regional and local budgets (see the respective section for ECCE above). As noted earlier, in 2020, state subsidies covered 24.3% of private schools’ total expenditures, 16,8% of which came from federal subjects’ budget, 5.4% from local budgets and 2,1% from the federal budget. Meanwhile, 59,6% of private schools’ funds income came from the funds of the population. Among other financial sources are own funds of organizations (14%), extra-budgetary funds (0,9%) and funds from abroad (1,2%) (FSN form No. OO-2).
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Textbooks and learning materials: Schools, licenced and accredited by the state, shall choose learning materials from the federal list of textbooks approved by the state (Law on Education, article 18:4). Non-state educational institutions are entitled to state subsidies, which, among other things, can be used to cover the costs of textbooks and teaching materials.
A large percentage of the textbooks (62% in 2020) in the list for 2020 is published by Prosveshscheniye [Enlightenment], which is a joint-stock for-profit company. According to some commentators, the company’s main revenues come from state contracts.
Schools providing secondary vocational education are entitled to choose the textbooks and learning materials on their own (article 28).
Teaching profession: The Law on Education, article 46, states that the right to engage in teaching activities is granted to persons with secondary vocational or higher education. In connection with the Federal Law of June 8, 2020 No. 165-FZ "On Amendments to Articles 46 and 108 of the Federal Law « On Education in the Russian Federation » to the Federal the law on education with amendments, according to which persons enrolled in individual educational programs of higher education are also admitted to teaching in accordance with the Procedure for admitting persons enrolled in educational programs of higher education to engage in teaching activities in general educational programs approved by the Ministry of Education of Russia in agreement with the Ministry of science and higher education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Labor of Russia by decree of September 18, 2020 No. 508. Teachers are required to confirm their qualifications every five years by means of certification (articles 48 and 49). Due to part 4 of article 49 of the Law on Education, the procedure for attestation of teaching staff is established by the Ministry of Education of Russia in agreement with the Ministry of Labor of Russia.
In 2020, the percentage of teachers with higher education degrees was higher in private schools than in public ones (94.3% and 86.9, respectively).
Corporal punishment: According to article 34:9 of the Law on Education students have the right to protection from all forms of physical and mental violence, personal insults and protection of life and health.
Other safety measures and COVID-19: During the pandemic, many educational institutions in Russia switched to distance learning. This did not require any changes in the legislative framework since the Law on Education permits distance learning as one form of acquiring education (articles 15,16 and 17).
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that Federal Law of June 8, 2020 No. 164-FZ «On Amendments to Articles 71.1 and 108 of the Federal Law «On Education in the Russian Federation» Article 108 of the Federal Law on Education is supplemented with Part 17. It says that in case of the threat of occurrence and (or) the occurrence of individual emergencies, the introduction of a high-alert regime or an emergency situation throughout the territory of the Russian Federation or in its part:
- the implementation of educational programs, as well as the state final examination that completes the mastering of basic professional educational programs, is carried out using e-learning, distance educational technologies, regardless of the restrictions provided for in federal state educational standards or in the list of professions, fields of training, specialties, the implementation of educational programs for which it is not allowed to use exclusively distance educational technologies, if the implementation of the specified educational programs and the state final examination without the use of these technologies and the postponement of training are impossible;
- copies of documents on education and (or) on qualifications, documents on training, issued in electronic form (a paper document converted into electronic form by scanning or photographing with the provision of machine-readable recognition of its details), provide access to education and (or) professional activities along with documents on education and (or) on qualifications, training documents issued on paper.In the context of the growing digitalization of education, new non-state actors in education appeared. According to recent research, several large high-tech companies (e.g., philanthropy Vklad v budushscheye, Rosnano, etc.) are currently involved in the development of programs and online platforms which claim to improve the access to and provision of digital education technologies (Piattoeva & Gurova, 2021).
During the COVID the government took a number of measures to support small business organizations and individual entrepreneurs. However, since educational institutions are considered non-profit organizations, private preschools and schools were not entitled to government subsidies or tax deductions.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools switched to digital learning, which, according to HSE (2021), was accompanied by the massive expansion of digital education service providers, both commercial and non-commercial.
Fee-setting: For regulations, see the respective section under Multi-level regulations.In practice, schools determine the prices of their services independently, taking into account the paying capacity of a region’s population. A MEMO report from 2016 shows that private educational institutions charge on average one and a half times more for such services than public schools (5200 rubles and 3047 rubles a month respectively). Even more noticeable is the difference in tuition fees set by private schools. In 2016, the fees ranged from 14 000 to 915 000 rubles per year.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies for vulnerable groups: According to the FSN form No.OO-1, in 2020, 2.3% of private educational organizations of general education had separate classes for students with disabilities or were a separate general educational organization for students with disabilities.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
School board: See Multi-level regulations.
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
School inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Student assessment: No information was found.
Diplomas and degrees: See Multi-level regulations.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
The system of tertiary education in Russia follows the rules and regulations named in the Law on Education and includes both public and private higher education establishments (hereafter HEI). In 2018/19, academic year, there were 245 private HEIs (33% of all HEIs) and 141 branches in the country, which were attended by 379.1 thousand students (9,1% enrolment rate). For comparison, in 2010/11 private HEIs enrolled 1201.1 thousand students (17,04% of all HE students) (HSE, 2020). According to the data by the Federal Statistic Service (Rosstat, 2020, p. 371, my calculations), in 2019/2020 the share of students in private HEIs has further decreased to 5,29%.
In general, higher education accounts for the largest share of household expenditure in education (47,1%) (HSE, 2020, p. 109). In 2018, for instance, 1877.5 thousand students paid for tuition in public HEIs and 372.4 thousand paid for education in private universities. At the same time, 6.7 thousand students studied at private HEIs at the expense of public funds (HSE, 2020, p. 132).
Registration and approval: SeeMulti-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations. According to article 1 of the Regulations for Licensing of Educational Activities, educational activities carried out by private organizations in Skolkovo Innovation Center do not need a licence.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: According to the Law on Education, both public and private HEIs can be financed from a variety of sources, including funds from private individuals and legal entities, own funds, extrabudgetary funds and funds from foreign citizens or organizations (see also Multi-level Regulations).
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: HEIs licenced and accredited by the state, regardless of the form of ownership, are required to follow the state education standards for higher education (Law on Education, article 11). The standard for each cycle of tertiary education has a basic (compulsory) part and an optional (profile) part set by the HEIs.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: See Multi-level regulations.
Admission selection and processes: According to article 70 of the Law on Education, admission to bachelor and specialist programmes is based on the results of the Unified State Examination and/or the results on additional tests. Admission to master programmes is based on the results of the tests administered by HEIs. For more information, see Multi-level regulations.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Board: In accordance with article 51:10 of the Law on Education, the rules for election and appointment of the head of a private HEI are established in the charter of the institution. For more information, see Multi-level regulations.
Reporting requirements: No information was found.
Inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Student assessment: No information was found.
Diplomas and degrees: See Multi-level regulations.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
3.2 Multi-level regulations
The majority of regulations in the Law of Education apply to all educational institutions regardless of the level of education. Moreover, most of the regulations apply to both public and private educational institutions provided that the latter are licenced and accredited by the state. The Law on Education grants autonomy to educational institutions in deciding upon academic (educational), organizational, financial and other issues within the limits of the law (article 28:1).
Registration and approval: Private educational institutions in Russia have the same status as the public ones, given that they have a state licence or accreditation. Accordingly, the rules for establishing, operating and monitoring education are the same as for both private and public institutions.
Religious educational organizations are established in accordance with article 5 of the law On Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion and religious associations.
When it comes to individual entrepreneurs, article 32 of the Law on Education distinguishes between those providing educational services on their own from those who hire other staff for carrying out educational activities. The former (e.g., private tutors) are not required to licence their services (Law on Education, article 91:2), but they must register themselves with the tax authorities (article 32:3).
The procedure and requirements for licensing are regulated by the Law on Education (article 91) and the decree on the Regulations for Licensing of Educational Activities. To qualify for a licence an educational institution must satisfy several requirements. The list of requirements and the procedures for obtaining a licence is the same for all institutions regardless of ownership but vary depending on the type, level and area of training. The general requirements include the ownership of premises and equipment necessary for the declared purpose. The premises must comply with the established sanitary rules and with regulations and norms for ensuring the life, health and safety of students and provide special conditions for students with disabilities (Regulation for Licensing, article 4). Further, an application for a school licence must contain an educational program, developed and approved by the organization, which must comply with article 12 of the Law on Education. To register an educational institution, the founder(s) must submit documents conforming the compliance with all of the licensing requirements.
Licence: The licensing terms and procedures in the field of education are regulated by the federal law On Licensing of Some Activities (2011, FZ-99), the decree on the Regulations for Licensing of Educational Activities (2020, N 1490) and the Law on Education (article 91).
All institutions and individual entrepreneurs need a licence for carrying out educational activities. An exception is made for individual entrepreneurs working without hiring employees (Law on Education, article 91:2). The full list of educational services subject to licensing is given in the Appendix to decree no 966 on the Regulations for Licensing of Educational Activities (2020).
The responsibility for licensing educational institutions is divided between the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science and local executive authorities. The former carries out licensing of institutions for higher education, secondary vocational education in the field of defence, Russian educational institutions abroad and foreign institutions operating in the Russian Federation (Regulations for Licensing, article 2). Other educational institutions are licenced by the regional and local executive authorities.
As mentioned, licensing requirements vary by the type of organization and their area of training. There are, for instance, special licensing conditions for religious schools. Article 91:13 of the Law on Education states that an application for establishing a religious school must be submitted by an official religious organization and contain information on the qualification of the teaching staff who ought to have theological degrees and titles.
According to the federal law On Licensing of Some Activities, the licence has no expiration date but might be suspended or withdrawn (see Quality assurance).
Educational institutions which are licenced and accredited by the state, have equal legal status regardless of the level of education and form of ownership (Law on Education, article 91).
Profit-making: In accordance with the Law on Education (article 2:18), educational organizations have the status of nonprofit organizations. This applies to both state and non-state organizations (article 22:1). “Non-profit organization” is defined by the article 2 of the Federal Law on Nonprofit Organizations (1996, FZ-7) as “organization that does not have profit making as its main goal and does not distribute the received profit among its members”. However, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (1994, FZ-51, paragraph 4 of article 50) allows non-profit organizations to generate profit if it is directed to achieve the goals for which these organizations are created. The law on Nonprofit Organizations (article 26:1) specifies that, among other sources, profit can be generated from the provision of goods and/or services. As mentioned, the Law on Education (article 101) permits educational institutions, both public and private, to generate revenues by providing paid services.
Taxes and subsidies: According to the Part II of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (2000, FZ-117), nonprofit organizations pay tax on income generated from their economic activities. However, according to article 149:14, the provision of paid educational services is not subject to taxpaying.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: The requirements for the content of educational programs for private institutions are the same as for public ones. In particular, the Law on Education, article 92, states that educational institutions licenced and accredited by the state shall follow the Federal State Education Standards. In addition, however, educational institutions have the right to develop their own educational programs.
Teaching profession: The procedures for hiring a pedagogical worker and regulations of working conditions (teaching load, vacation, minimum wage rate, etc.) are subject to the Labor Code (2001, #197-FZ). Those concern primarily state organizations.
According to article 331 of the Tax Code, entitled to teaching are persons with an adequate educational qualification. Persons with a criminal record, incapacitated and chronically-ill are prohibited from teaching.
Fee-setting: In Russia, both public and private educational institutions are entitled to provide paid educational services. According to the resolution Rules for Provision of Paid Educational Services (2020, No 1441), educational institutions have the right to independently establish the cost of paid educational services.
According to article 54 of the Law on Education, the full cost of educational services and payment procedures should be clearly indicated in the agreement concluded upon admission to an educational institution. Second, the costs specified in the contract must correspond to the costs posted on the official website of the educational organization. Third, it is not allowed to increase the cost after the conclusion of a contract, except for an increase in accordance with the “inflation rate provided by the main characteristics of the federal budget for the next financial year”. However, educational institutions have the right to reduce the costs of paid services. The grounds and procedure for cost reduction are established by local regulatory acts and must be communicated to the customer.
Admission selection and processes: The Law on Education, article 55, stipulates equal admission conditions for all applicants.
The Law on Education provides for the powers of various federal executive bodies to determine the procedure for admission to study in individual educational programs or in specific organizations carrying out educational activities (part 8 of article 55, paragraph 1 of part 10 of article 81, part 12 of article 82, part 6, 13, 19 and 22 of Article 83, Part 5 of Article 84, Part 4 of Article 86, Clause 1.1 of Part 5 of Article 88 of the Federal Law on Education).
At the same time, part 9 of Article 55 of the Federal Law on Education provides that the rules for admission to a specific organization carrying out educational activities for training in educational programs are independently established by the organization carrying out educational activities, in the part not regulated by the legislation on education.
Policies for vulnerable groups: In accordance with article 219 of the Tax Code, parents (caregivers) are can return 13% of tuitions fees by means of tax deduction. The main conditions for such deduction are that the person pay taxes, his/her children are under the age of 24 and there is a contract on the provision of paid educational services with a state-recognized educational institution.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountabilityBoard: Article 51 of the Law on Education states that the procedures for election and appointment of the head of a private educational institution are to be defined by the institutions themselves in accordance with federal legislative framework. Article 26 provides for a creation of various schools boards, including collegial management bodies, pedagogical councils, board of trustees, supervisory councils, councils of students and parents.
Inspection: The Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science ( Rosobrnadzor) is the main federal body of executive authority, which is entitled to licensing (see above), accrediting and overseeing education and science.
Granting a licence can be considered as the first step of quality assurance. In case an educational institution or individual entrepreneur fails to meet the state requirements, a licensing authority may suspend or withdraw their licence.
The accreditation system will change on March 1, 2022. Accreditation confirms compliance with the accreditation indices and no longer with federal training standards. Accreditation will be without term. In addition, the procedure of suspension of accreditation will be excluded from the Russian legislation on education.
Sanctions: Law on Education, article 93, states that that in the event of a violation of the requirements of the legislation on education, the relevant body for control and supervision issues an order to the institution to eliminate the identified violation. The term of its execution specified in the order may not exceed six months. In case of non-fulfillment of the order, the control body initiates an “administrative offense case” in accordance and prohibits admission to this organization in whole or in part. In the event of failure to eliminate violations of the requirements of legislation on education, the body for control can suspend the licence.
In the event of a discrepancy in the content and quality of training of students in accordance with state-accredited educational programs with federal state educational standards, the educational control and supervision body can also suspend the validity of state accreditation
Diplomas and degrees: Regardless of the type of ownership, educational institutions which are licenced and accredited by the state have the right to issue graduation certificates and award students with the corresponding degrees. Institutions lacking a licence and/or accreditation (e.g., family centers) can cooperate with state-recognized institutions, whether public or private, for intermediate and final certification/qualification.
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
In Russia, private supplementary tutoring is a widespread phenomenon that dates back to the eighteenth-nineteenth century (Mikhaylova, 2019). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became more “visible” and more accepted by public. There are no nationwide statistics on the prevalence of private tutoring, but the polling data indicates that it is rather widespread and growing. For instance, according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), the number of respondents who insist on the need for supplementary tutoring for school graduates has increased from 65% in 2016 to 72% in 2018 (VCIOM, 2016, 2018). In the most recent poll, 42% of school graduates reported that they had used private tutoring services in preparation for the Unified State Exam (VCIOM, 2019). According to data from 2016 (HSE, 2016b), students attending private schools spent much more money on private tutoring than students from public schools (153 and 58 USD a month, respectively).
When it comes to individual entrepreneurs, article 32 of the Law on Education distinguishes between those providing educational services on their own from those who hire other staff for carrying out educational activities. The former (e.g., private tutors) are not required to licence their services (Law on Education, article 91:2), but they must register themselves with the tax authorities (article 32:3).
Financial operation and quality
No information was found.
Article 48:2 of the Law on Education forbids teachers to provide paid educational services to pupils of the same educational institutions “if this leads to a conflict of interests”. The explanatory part of the Law (article 2:33) specifies that “conflict of interests” may occur when teachers’ interest in material benefits negatively affects their primary work. This means that in other cases teachers are allowed to tutor their own students for a fee. The law also forbids individuals, who in accordance with labor legislation are not allowed or suspended from teaching work, to carry out educational activities as individual entrepreneurs (article 32:3).
Finally, the Russian government sets detailed professional standards for teachers and tutors in supplementary education in five categories: Tutor of supplemental education, Senior tutor of supplemental education, Trainer-teacher, Senior trainer-teacher, and Teacher (Russian Federation, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, 2018).
This profile has been reviewed by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
