It seems that uncontrolled mass visits to houses of culture and other institutions - the glorious legacy of the pioneer past - can be forgotten. With the introduction of certificates for additional education, each child from 5 to 18 years old will be registered, in three years he will be able to attend only one circle with a free certificate. The journalist of "AiF-Kaliningrad" learned how this happens in practice.
Account number
The certificate cannot be picked up or cashed. This is a ten-digit number that is automatically assigned to each child when visiting an additional education institution. The financial support of the certificate in each municipality of each region is different: from 8 to 15.5 thousand rubles, depending on the possibilities of the budget and the volume of services. Parents are encouraged to choose a program according to which children will be trained from the regional register of providers of additional services, which includes both state and private organizations. The funds of the certificate will be sent to pay for it.
The remainder can be used for another line of business. Lacks? Parents will have to pay. Some experts see this as the meaning of the innovation: the state narrows the circle of free circles and sections, forcing moms and dads to co-finance additional education.
Officials, however, assure that the state even today has no obligation to guarantee free attendance of circles and sections. And an innovation is being undertaken to give children equal access to all institutions providing additional education services, including private ones, and to improve their quality.
As the Minister of Education of the Kaliningrad Region Svetlana Truseneva said, the program is designed for three years. Now its first - technical - stage is being implemented in the region. A regulatory framework and a register of services are being created. So far there are about 1000 educational programs in it, about a hundred of them are from six non-governmental organizations. Perhaps it was the fact that now the vacation period and institutions are not so active. It is expected that the private sector will represent at least 25% of programs, primarily in such scarce areas as robotics and digital technologies. Parents can apply for a certificate at the place of registration, but you can use it in any other city in the region. In 2018, only 5% of the total volume of additional education services will be digitized, mainly the most understandable: choreography and artistic direction. In 2019, everyone else. By 2021, the entire area of additional education in the region will be transferred to a personalized accounting system.
If now a child can still attend several circles, then in three years: one child - one free circle. The certificate will be issued once and will be valid until the child reaches 18 years of age. The funds on it will be replenished annually.
So far, parents have more questions than answers.
“I learned that you can choose any circle. I went to the specified portal in the section "My Navigator". But I haven't found a single sports organization, - said Tatyana Gromikova from Kaliningrad. - We continue to study with our son for a fee. Arseny is 10 years old. He goes to aikido (2000 rubles a month), rock climbing (one lesson at a private climbing wall - 200 rubles). We want to study English, but this profile was not found in the register of organizations in Kaliningrad. Although Chernyakhovsk, Sovetsk, Gusev offer such courses. In the modular center they say: wait, maybe someone else will show up. It is surprising that on September 1 the program should already work, and no one can tell us anything definite. It is confusing that only one circle is provided with a certificate. I have a very inquisitive child, he may well attend up to three sections at the same time."
Need to hurry
There are also complaints from teachers who are making titanic efforts to lure parents and prove their relevance in the service market. Participation in the register of private organizations is questionable. Many (even the most popular of them) today, for objective reasons, work without a license, which means they cannot claim a piece of the budget pie.
The head of the regional model center for additional education for children in the Kaliningrad region, Oksana Chyornaya, explained that so far the municipalities have three registers of programs. There are pre-professional and significant ones, they are provided by the budget. If the child has chosen a circle from among them, the certificate remains only an account. Funds are assigned to the document only if the choice is made from the register of certified additional services. It is difficult for parents to understand these intricacies. But you can do it easier: call the Children's and Youth Center or another organization where there is a circle you are interested in, and ask if it falls under the certificate.
“Now it will be possible to attend no more than three programs at the same time,” says Oksana Valentinovna. - But this is also good: the child will choose the circle consciously. If you don't like it or make a mistake, you can terminate the contract and switch to another program. This can be done from the 1st day of the next month. The number of budget places for the certificate is limited by the budget limit. Three thousand certificates have been allocated for Kaliningrad in 2018. Those who hurry will have time to get into the program. But there is no need to panic: this year the rest of the circles and sections are working in the same mode."
“The idea of making it easier for parents to finance additional education is in itself not a bad idea,” says Yulia Taranova, founder of the Academy of Geniuses clubs. - But only licensed organizations can get into the register, and the conditions for obtaining a license (it costs 50 thousand rubles) are impracticable for circles - the same as for large secondary schools. It is necessary to bring the premises in line so that the child has a certain number of meters, to comply with numerous SanPiNs, to equip two toilets, an accessible environment for children with disabilities, etc. These are huge expenses. 90% of private organizations cannot do this. If the licensing conditions for circles were simplified by law, this would change the situation. But under equal conditions, it is troublesome and unjustifiably expensive, because the child comes to the circle for only 2 hours a week."
Unequal position
Olga Titova, chairman of the regional organization of educational workers' trade unions, sees many risks in the innovation:
“Its goal is to proclaim the availability of additional education for every child. But isn't that so now? It is enough for a mother to write an application, and the child can attend any circle and section, except for the educational one. Supplementary education performs an important social function. Not all parents, for various reasons, can devote a lot of time to their children. Children spend it in the Children's and Youth Centers, wandering from one circle to another. And this is normal: they try themselves in different directions: dancing, robotics, fine arts, sports; acquire useful skills under the supervision of experienced teachers. I doubt that with the introduction of the certificate, children will be able to fully realize their curiosity. Yes, it will be possible to switch to another direction, but not immediately. It will be necessary to terminate the previous agreement, look for the required circle in the register, enter logins, passwords, etc. Not all parents will do this!"
Moreover, there are many of them who are far from computerization. In addition, the choice of circles is limited to the monetary content of the certificate. In each municipality, it will cost differently, which means that children from the hinterland initially find themselves in an unequal position. It is also unclear what the teacher's salary will consist of.
“Additional education is not a school where a child must attend. Missing classes are inevitable, and it depends on whether the section will stay afloat, says Titova. - Some part of the previously free circles will go into the category of paid ones, and this will also reduce the initial choice. We need to work with these risks now, without waiting for an explosion of parental discontent and violations of teachers' labor rights."