FAS ISSUED A WARNING TO THE FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF PEDAGOGICAL MEASUREMENTS

The research institute has been avoiding contracts with particular publishing houses offering manuals for evaluating the quality of education, including training schoolchildren for USE (Unified State Examination) and BSE (Basic State Examination)

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) issued a warning to the Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements to stop actions that have signs of violating Clauses 5 and 8 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.

The research institute avoided contracts with particular publishing houses for consulting services and guidelines for drafting manuals on evaluating the quality of education. The manuals are intended for training schoolchildren for the final state attestation (USE and BSE).

Deputy Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Nadezhda Sharavskaya clarified: “The choice of buyers of tutorials on training schoolchildren for USE and BSE is influenced by the Institute’s trademark. Only those publishing houses that the right to use this trademark, with which the Institute has concluded agreements. Therefore, actions of the Institute may create discriminatory conditions for the participants of the market of tutorials sales in comparison with the publishing houses that have agreements with the Institute”.

The institute must eliminate the identified signs of the violation by 2 April 2018.