Objectives of private education in the country discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO

The plenary session "The Role and Potential of the Private Sector in the Formation of a Sovereign Education System" was held at the RUSSIA EXPO. It was organized within the framework of the Non-State Education Forum, which was launched at the Exposition. The industry participants and government representatives worked out specific mechanisms of interaction between private education and the state to solve strategic tasks and measures for the development of the industry.

People have a demand for their children to study in private schools, said Alexei Nechaev, head of the New People party faction in the State Duma. The deputy cited the results of a survey that took place in December - 1,200 parents took part in it. According to the results of the survey, 27% of them want their children to study in private schools, 39% would like it if they don't have to pay, and 54% have a positive attitude to public-private partnership in education.

At the same time, only 205 thousand out of 18 million schoolchildren study in non-state institutions. Among the problems Alexei Nechaev noted the high threshold for opening new schools, difficulties in obtaining a license and standardization of the educational process. To solve them, it is necessary to give unused state property to private schools, cancel outdated requirements and provide flexibility of educational programs for them.

"The industry has great potential. It is possible to increase this volume by about 20 times. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it is necessary to move from a demand economy to a supply economy. For the sphere of private education, it is necessary to solve issues. Let's make a working group together with the Association of Non-State Education, which would outline a working map and follow it," Alexei Nechaev addressed the participants of the discussion.

Private education today gives an opportunity to get knowledge at any time and in any place, said Boris Chernyshov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma.

"It gives mobility - you can get service on vocational retraining, on additional education wherever you want. The most important thing is that non-state education acts as a driver here," said Boris Chernyshov.

At the same time, the role of private education in Russia is now ambivalent - schools are perceived as elitist, and as for universities, people remember that they used to be closed down a lot. Now the bar for private education is quite high, the deputy noted, and needs support from the state.

Now private schools must also fulfill the state tasks in the field of education, said Olga Kazakova, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education. This is declared by the regional authorities.

 "They want all private organizations to be built into a unified education system. They are ready and willing to work with the private sector. If something is missing - we are ready to help both legislatively and organizationally," said Olga Kazakova.

The same applies to private universities - they fulfill educational objectives, said Ekaterina Kharchenko, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education.

"The country needs the training of qualified personnel not only in state universities, but also in private ones. Therefore, first of all, it is about the quality of education. But I agree that it is not only a question of knowledge, skills, abilities, but also the education of a real citizen. And here we are counting on the integration of the state objective in terms of spiritual, moral and patriotic education. It is important for a person not only to be a specialist, but also to love his homeland and try to create for the benefit of the Fatherland," said Ekaterina Kharchenko.

The participants of the session came to the conclusion that it is necessary to build cooperation between the private sector and the state and increase its level. This will lead to the fact that private education will become more accessible.