GUIDELINES TO PREVENT RESTRICTION OF COMPETITION IN ADDITIONAL EDUCATION

A joint document is drafted upon the results of analyzing performance of the system of personified financing of additional educationin the regions as part of fulfilling the “Education” National Project

In the course of real-time monitoring, the Federal Antimonopoly Service exposed a number of violations in the subjects of the Russian Federation related to allocation of public funds for performance of the system of children’s additional education in regions. For instance, FAS established that some regulatory acts of regions or municipalities have provisions that restrict the right for participation of private companies and individual entrepreneurs in the system of personified financing of additional education, which violates the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” ¹, and is contrary to the National Competition Development Plan².

To prevent anticompetitive actions, FAS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, sent a letter to regional executive bodies with recommendations in the part of devising regulatory documents to implement the system of personified financing of children’s additional education in the regions of Russia.

Deputy Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Yulia Yermakova, says: “From our side, we strongly recommend regional executive bodies to create transparent mechanisms that would provide equal access of organizations of all forms of property without exception to execute the system of personified financing of additional education. It concerns, in particular, information openness and accessibility of the data on lists of organizations that will provide additional education services for children”.

Also, to support launching the system of personified financing of additional education and preventing antimonopoly risks, regional FAS Offices must analyze whether regulatory acts on the system of personified financing of children’s additional education applied in the subjects of the Russian Federation conform to the antimonopoly law, and provide consultations to regional executive bodies and local self-government bodies that approach antimonopoly Offices about drafting such acts. At the same time, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation provides methodological support to regional authorities and coordinates implementation of the system of personified financing of children’s additional education.

Regions began introducing the system of personified financing of children’s additional education in September 2018 under the frame of the “Education” National Project. The main objective of the system is to provide guaranteed accessibility to additional education for children by using registered certificates. I.e. a family can apply to obtain a certificate and choose any activities for their kids in children’s facilities of additional out-of-school education. The chosen activities are paid from public funds, payments are guaranteed with registered certificates.

Reference:

¹ Article 15 of № 135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26 July 2006.

² № 618 Order of the President of the Russian Federation “On the main directions of the state policy towards competition development”.