Translated material
Childish miscalculation
An increase in the minimum wage may trigger an increase in payments for preschool services
A more than two-fold increase in the minimum wage from September 1 easily fits into the election strategy of the party in power, but it seems to be somewhat at odds with the demographic ambitions of the Russian government. An increase in the minimum wage may also affect the cost of keeping children in preschool institutions. Until recently, when in a number of regions kindergarten fees were tied to such a conventional unit as the minimum wage, such a significant change in the latter would have had a significant impact on the wallets of families with young children. Today there is no such strict connection, but, as the Ministry of Education and Science told Vremya Novostey, the need to increase wages for public sector employees, which includes nannies and educators, can provoke a revision of prices for the maintenance of preschool children. Naturally, in the direction of their increase.The last word, naturally, remains with the municipalities and federal subjects whose competence includes kindergartens. But the Ministry of Education and Science hopes that there will not be a strong jump in family spending on preschool education, since the federal center still has leverage over the appetites of local officials. In particular, the Law “On Education” limits the amount of allowable expenses for a Russian family to pay for kindergarten to 20% of the actual costs of maintaining a child in kindergarten. And for families with three or more children, the amount of kindergarten payment cannot exceed 10%. The rest must be paid by municipalities.
However, in more than 80% of Russian regions, the share of parental money in kindergarten budgets is already below the legal “maximum”. For example, in the Oryol region, parents pay only 7% of the actual cost of keeping a child in a municipal preschool institution, and in the Volgograd region - 12%. Therefore, officials of the Ministry of Education and Science do not rule out that in some regions of Russia the increase in kindergarten fees will still be noticeable for parents. “In addition, the list of expenses for maintaining a child includes not only the wages of kindergarten workers,” the educational department noted, “an increase in utility costs may also affect the amount of payment.”
As for the actual regional and municipal expenses for maintaining young Russians in kindergartens, their amounts, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, vary significantly. And if in the Oryol region the local treasury spends only 200 rubles per month on child support. per month, then in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug - 2 thousand. “The cost of maintenance depends, among other things, on the cost of products and the possibilities of delivery; it’s one thing if they are produced locally, and another when delivery requires significant transportation costs,” - - noted in the Ministry of Education and Science.
The more affluent capital compares favorably with other regions. The Moscow authorities can allow more than 5 thousand rubles to be allocated for the maintenance of young citizens in kindergartens. monthly. True, since last year the city has nevertheless invited parents to participate more actively in co-financing preschool institutions. If, since 2001, for five years, families’ expenses for kindergarten were less than 3% of the cost of raising a child and amounted to an average of 150 rubles. per month, then in 2006 the fee increased significantly. Today it averages from 500 to 1000 rubles. depending on the category of institution.
As the Vremya Novostei correspondent was assured by the city department of education, “as part of the Moscow government’s social policy, kindergarten fees will not be increased more than once a year.” The city hall’s immediate plans, according to press secretary of the Moscow Department of Education Alexander Gavrilov, also do not include an increase in monthly fees for preschool institutions, although last year the cost of maintaining a Moscow kindergarten was tied to the level of the minimum wage. As Mr. Gavrilov explained to Vremya Novostei, parental pay is calculated not from the actual minimum wage, but from the base rate of 100 rubles, from which tax fees and other payments are calculated.
Reassuring statements are also coming from the federal educational department. The Ministry of Education and Science reminded the Vremya Novostey correspondent that, in accordance with the president’s instructions, it is planned to introduce compensation for parents paying for the services of private kindergartens. Currently, the state reimburses 20% of the cost of municipal kindergarten services to families with one child, 50% to families with two children, and 70% to families with three or more children. The educational department is also preparing documents for families using the services of non-state preschool institutions. A proposal to this effect will be submitted to the government by December this year.
However, private kindergartens make up only 2% of more than 46 thousand often overcrowded public child care institutions. And, perhaps, such a measure is also aimed at stimulating the development of the private sector of preschool education, which should compensate for the lack of places in municipal kindergartens. Let us remind you that today in Russia there are more than 1 million families in the “children’s” queue.