Regional kindergarten

The government relinquishes its authority to pay compensation to parents of preschool children

The federal authorities intend to shift the responsibility “to the shoulders” of the regions to compensate for the costs that parents bear when paying for the maintenance of their child in kindergarten. Amendments to the Law “On Education,” which the government submitted to the State Duma yesterday, stipulate that the authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation must independently determine the amount of compensation for fees paid to parents for kindergartens. If, according to current legislation, the federal center must partially assume the burden of paying these compensations (by providing subsidies to the regions), then the government bill abolishes this rule - all money should come only from regional budgets.

The developers of the amendments assure: although regional authorities will now determine the amount of compensation at their own discretion, it should not be lower than the level established by the Law “On Education”. According to the law, parents are entitled to compensation for the first child in the amount of 20% of the average fee for maintaining him in kindergarten, for the second child - in the amount of 50% and for the remaining children - in the amount of 70%. As the head of the State Duma Committee on Education, United Russia member Grigory Balykhin, explained, the purpose of the government bill was to achieve targeted payment of compensation. First of all, it is necessary to help those families who need it most, the deputy explained - the regional authorities know better, because they are closer.

Let us note that, although the amendments have only just been introduced into parliament, the government has already de facto stopped allocating its share of compensation for kindergarten fees from the federal budget. Last December, a law was adopted that froze until January 1, 2011 the provisions of the Law “On Education”, which ordered the federal authorities to subsidize kindergarten costs in the regions. The basis for suspending this provision was one of the articles of the Budget Code. It says: if in the next financial year it turns out that there is not enough money in the federal budget to cover all the obligations of the Russian Federation, then the legislator must suspend the law that sets out this obligation. Which is what was done.

“Now the government, having seen that the regions are coping with compensation, is proposing to introduce a rule into the law that would permanently transfer compensation for part of the parental pay to the level of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children explained to Vremya Novostei , deputy from A Just Russia Elena Mizulina. The government's legislative initiative fits into an already established trend: since January 2010, the regions were also transferred to the costs of children's health and recreation and the obligation to pay benefits for low-income families (previously, the federal center transferred it to the regions in the form of a subsidy). According to the parliamentarian, it is still difficult to predict the consequences of the adoption of government amendments. “It is unknown whether all subjects of the Federation will cope with such a task,” notes Ms. Mizulina.

The concerns of the head of the profile committee of the State Duma are shared by member of the Public Chamber Alexandra Ochirova, who heads the working group of the OP on the development of social standards and the development of the social protection system. “I’m afraid that not all subjects of the Federation have sufficient financial resources to adequately solve this problem. Therefore, I would not categorically assert that shifting financial responsibility to the regions can help families in need,” Ms. Ochirova noted in an interview with a Vremya Novostei correspondent. According to the representative of the OP, a problem may arise similar to that which occurs in the case of organizing children's recreation - many regional budgets were ready for new expenses. “The monitoring carried out by our committee on the health and recreation of children using regional benefits shows that the situation, unfortunately, is not very good,” confirms Ms. Mizulina.

At the same time, the deputy recalled that the problem of providing children with places in kindergartens is under the control of the president - Dmitry Medvedev demands that the regions provide him with information on how this problem is being solved. “There is hope that the regions will cope with compensation for parental fees,” emphasizes Elena Mizulina. According to information available to the Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, a number of subjects of the Federation provide even greater compensation than what has so far been paid through subsidies from the federal budget. If previously the average amount was 150-160 rubles. per month, then some regions are able to pay up to 1.5-2 thousand rubles. “So there is a certain optimism,” notes Ms. Mizulina.

But at the same time, the deputy emphasizes, the question arises whether the government was too hasty. “Still, it was necessary to conduct more detailed monitoring, analyze whether all (and not individual) regions are capable of solving the task entrusted to them, and only after that make a final decision on transferring powers related to compensation of part of parental fees to regional level,” says Mizulina. According to the deputy, perhaps a more differentiated approach is needed so that children living in those regions that are not able to cope with the powers that have fallen on them are not infringed on their right to preschool education.

Mikhail MOSHKIN