Private education: pros and cons. University of the Russian Academy of Education

Which market segments are the most attractive from the point of view of private investment?

According to the “Research of the Russian market of online education and educational technologies” prepared by East-West Digital News, the total volume of the education market in Russia last year was 1.8 trillion rubles with a share of private business of 19.2% (351.7 billion rubles ). By 2021, experts expect the market as a whole to grow to 2 trillion rubles, and according to their forecasts, the share of private business will decrease to 18.9%, although in absolute terms this segment will see a slight increase to 385.4 billion rubles.

The Russian educational market is distinguished by a large share of “statehood”. According to the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Olga Vasilyeva, today the state is the founder of most institutions, and the majority of citizens choose state kindergartens, schools, technical schools and universities for their children. In her opinion, this is due to many factors - first of all, the low level of income of the population, and this fact deprives the impetus for the development of the non-state sector. According to the minister, business has little interest in this industry. “There are examples where, despite the efforts of regional authorities to create the most favorable conditions for the development of public-private partnerships in the field of education, business representatives have not expressed a desire to develop this niche,” Vasilyeva said. Thus, according to her, the project to open a private preschool institution in the Republic of Khakassia in 2015 failed: local authorities, at the expense of the republican budget, reconstructed the building, allocated a grant, but not a single entrepreneur expressed a desire to start organizing a kindergarten.

The non-state education sector is developing in the capital and exclusively in large cities; according to statistics, most private organizations operate in Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, the Sverdlovsk region and the Krasnodar Territory. According to the Ministry of Education, in a number of regions there are no private institutions at all, for example, in Altai, Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Chukotka Autonomous Region, and the Jewish Autonomous Region.

But the situation is changing every year, although in different market segments the trends are in different directions. Thus, the number of private preschool institutions has increased significantly, and this segment is today one of the most developed in the field of private education. According to Vasilyeva, this is due to the implementation of the “May decrees” that Vladimir Putin gave to the government after taking office in 2012. They, in particular, talked about achieving the goal of 100% coverage of children under 7 years of age with preschool education, after which the obligations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for the financial support of private preschool organizations were legislated.

The next step was the modernization of regional preschool education systems; one of the directions of this project was the development of all alternative types of preschool education on the basis of private kindergartens and childcare groups. This led to an increase in the number of private kindergartens - as of November 1, 2016, 1,438 private kindergartens were registered in all regions, attended by 113 thousand children. The largest number of such institutions are in the Samara region, the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia and the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The authors of the report on the Russian market of online education and educational technologies see great potential in this segment, since the share of private kindergartens in the total volume is not yet large - in total, in Russia, according to Rosstat at the end of 2015, there were 50,115 preschool education organizations. “Today, according to our calculations, the public sector occupies about 93% of the market, however, given the total market volume, the remaining 7% in monetary terms amounts to an impressive amount. Given the emerging dynamics of business penetration into the field of general preschool education, we predict that the market for private services in it will grow by 6.5 billion rubles by 2021,” the study says.

Since Soviet times, we have had a strong conviction that everything non-state is a priori bad, of poor quality, unreal. This idea to this day prevents many from adequately assessing the level of education in private universities and colleges in Russia. Is education in commercial educational institutions really inferior in quality of preparation, and what do students who choose a private university need to know?

They themselves, of course, played a huge role in shaping public opinion regarding the quality of education in private educational institutions. In the wake of allowing private enterprise, new institutes, academies, universities and colleges appeared throughout the country, like mushrooms after rain. However, these educational institutions did not have an established methodological and practical base, nor a decent teaching staff, nor the desire to provide students with a truly high-quality education. The result of this “infusion” into the educational sphere of the country has become an even more persistent conviction that studying at a commercial university or college cannot in any way be an alternative to studying at a state educational institution.

Today, however, the situation has changed radically: most commercial structures in the field of education are no longer saving on quality. What is the situation with education in non-state educational institutions now?

I choose a private educational institution. What should I pay attention to?

Each educational institution has its own reputation, which consists of student assessments, reviews of employers and teaching staff. It is these points that you should pay attention to if you choose one of the private universities or colleges.

Talk to those who are already studying at this educational institution. Ask them questions about everything that interests you: the level of workload, the quality of training, support from the teaching staff, the availability of a methodological and practical base.
Check out the ranking of private universities and colleges among potential employers in your chosen field of activity. If you have already decided where you would like to work after graduation, ask a direct question to potential company management.
Find out which teachers work at this educational institution. It is absolutely not necessary that the names of teachers be known, and the list of their regalia does not fit on page A4. These factors are not always decisive when assessing the quality of training. Focus on the experience of teachers, reviews of other students, and your own feelings from meeting them during Open Days.

Education in a private educational institution. Is it always expensive?

We always associate the word “private” with the need to pay considerable sums for the opportunity to obtain a higher or secondary vocational education. However, if you carefully read the offers of certain non-state educational institutions, you will learn a lot of interesting things. For example, some private universities provide n number of free places for talented students. Others cooperate with organizations that pay successful students scholarships that partially or fully cover the cost of education. Still others work in partnership with educational projects that sponsor the training of specialists in a specific professional field.

- Our college actively cooperates with the educational project “New Personnel. Pharmacy,” comments Andrey Kirichuk, deputy director for educational and industrial work at the “New Knowledge” pharmaceutical college, who supports talented and motivated students who dream of getting a pharmaceutical education. For those who enroll as part of the project, training in “New Knowledge” is absolutely free for the entire period of study. On March 1, a new enrollment for the next academic year just began: from all those who wish, the project’s Board of Trustees will select the 25 best applicants who will come to us in September along with the rest of the students.By the way, I take this opportunity to invite you to ourOpen Day 12th of April.

Such sponsorship programs are not uncommon today. In many areas of activity - such as pharmacy - there is a catastrophic shortage of new specialists. This opens up new opportunities for those who would like to receive a quality education, but are not yet able to pay for it on their own.

“If I pay, I don’t have to study”: is it true that it is easier to study in private universities?

Another common misconception is that it is not at all necessary to study at commercial universities and colleges - it is enough to pay the fees for the next semester on time. This misconception is based on the fact that many educational institutions that do not receive support from the state find it unprofitable to expel unscrupulous students. But not all private educational institutions are ready to sacrifice their reputation for this, which is what applicants ultimately rely on when choosing a place to study. Therefore, students who demonstrate a frivolous attitude towards classes are mercilessly expelled even in non-state universities and colleges.

“Today our graduates are expected in most pharmacy enterprises in Moscow and the Moscow region,” continues Andrey Kirichuk, “so the level of requirements for students’ knowledge is really high. We are preparing a new generation of specialists in the field of pharmacy, and on our shoulders lies a huge responsibility for the life and health of pharmacy visitors. We do not hesitate to expel students who take an irresponsible approach to the learning process, regularly skip classes and demonstrate a low level of knowledge in exams. This also applies to those who came to us as part of the educational project “New Personnel. Pharmacy": in this case, we make free places for more conscientious students.

“Private” does not mean “bad”

Gradually, the negative attitude towards private education is disappearing from the consciousness of Russians. This is largely facilitated by the example of the United States and Western Europe: here studying at a private university or college is considered a privilege, and the level of training in commercial educational institutions is much higher than in public ones.

Irina Zatsepina

In contact with

Back in the 17th century in Russia there were masters of literacy who taught children to read and write for money. Later, during the reign of Peter I , the first private institutions appeared, where both boys and girls were already studying (before that, it was believed that women did not need to read and write). And by the middle of the 18th century, nobles were allowed to educate their children directly at home. The quality of knowledge deteriorated sharply because foreigners were hired as charlatans.

Catherine II, having decided that it was unsuitable for uneducated foreigners to educate the flower of the Russian nation, organized strict bureaucratic control over private education. It became possible to open a private educational institution only with the permission of the order of public charity, after checking the curriculum and teaching staff. But the October Revolution interrupted the chronicle of Russian private education for a long time. And only in 1991 it raised its head again.

H private school today

Instead of the term “private” it would be more correct to use the word “non-state”. Because the term “private” implies not only the form of ownership, but also the right of the owner to do what he sees fit. However, commercial schools do not have such freedom. If a school is accredited by the state, then according to the law on education it is absolutely adequate to the state one. Only the sources of funding differ, but the programs, requirements, standards, exams and certification are the same. If the school is not accredited, then in order to receive a state-issued certificate and with it the opportunity to enter Russian universities, students of private educational institutions are enrolled in an external program at a public school, where they take exams.

Private schools are:

Russian and foreign;
secular and with a religious bias;
with different educational systems;
with different payment systems.

Lyubov Ovsienko, Deputy Minister of Education:

– Today, our society has already formed a class of people who are ready to pay for school education for their children. In response to the needs of society, the private school sector must begin to develop more actively. It is completely unacceptable that potential clients of such schools send their children to study abroad. This is economically unprofitable for the republic, so special government programs will be developed aimed at helping to develop the private education sector.

Today, there are only 13 non-state school institutions in Kazan, compared to 300 in Moscow. Obviously, the situation needs to change. After all, an increase in the number of private schools will lead to healthy competition among them, which, in turn, will have a positive impact on the quality of the education offered. The problem of private kindergartens should be raised as a separate issue. Considering that today, due to many factors, children are not born completely healthy, they need special conditions for full development. Currently, regular kindergartens cannot offer such conditions. So far, only private “kindergartens” can do this, of which, by the way, there are not many.

pros private schools

The first and perhaps the main advantage of private education is an individual approach to the child. After all, children are all different: some grasp faster, some slower, some like to communicate with the teacher, others are withdrawn. In this sense, in a private school it is almost always possible to give the child as much attention as required, because the class size rarely exceeds 12-14 people. As a rule, when drawing up an agreement with parents, schools usually stipulate the maximum number of students in a class.

In some private schools, an individual curriculum is developed for each child, depending on the psychological type of the individual and the ultimate goal that is desired to be achieved. And if parents want their child to study a foreign language or physics in depth, the school will do everything possible to ensure this.

Another plus is comfortable conditions (comfortable furniture, good food), organization of the school day in such a way that children have time for sports, walks, and recreational activities - all these factors allow you to maximize the child’s abilities, without overwork and overload.

A private school solves the problem of financial incentives for teachers who do not have to change their field of activity in search of income. On the contrary, they are given a chance to realize their creative potential in what they love. Teachers and directors of non-state schools admit that the material deprivation experienced by teachers in regular schools and constant thoughts about their daily bread are a significant obstacle to the development of modern Russian education. In private schools, it is possible to follow global trends in education, teachers study special literature on pedagogy and psychology, and quickly introduce modern methods.

The opportunity for in-depth study of a number of disciplines is another positive feature of studying at a private school. Almost all non-state schools teach at least two foreign languages. Moreover, one is studied from the first grade, and the second from the 4th–5th grade. If there is enough strength, the student can also take a third language. The opportunity to apply acquired knowledge in practice is provided by trips abroad, which private schools try to organize regularly.

Natalya Akhatova, director of the Elena-Service private school:

– I think teachers need to be freed from painful thoughts about where to get money to feed their own children. Then there will be not only Pushkin evenings, but also other events that require a special creative approach from the teacher. The teacher should be calm about his earnings - the businessman-entrepreneur who owns the school should worry about this. In addition, the work of a teacher becomes much more effective when there are half as many students in a class instead of 30.

Disadvantages of private education

The quality of education in private schools does not always correspond to what is advertised. Here it is necessary to choose an educational institution especially carefully. You shouldn't put much faith in various experimental programs that focus on one particular discipline. Such things as “equipped computer classes”, “additional language, music or tennis classes” should not influence the choice of school - it is obvious that all this should be in a school that positions itself as private.

Much attention should be paid to the basic program, because this is what will be needed when the child enters university. In addition, parents should remember that if previously a student from a school that had a certain agreement with one or another university entered there on a preferential basis, now the practice of combining final exams in schools with entrance exams to universities has been officially abolished, that is, they will have to enroll on a general basis .

How to choose a school

Firstly, every non-state educational institution must obtain a license to conduct educational activities. Documentary confirmation that everything is in order at the school with the building, in compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, material and technical base and the professional level of teachers.

Secondly, accreditation is mandatory. It indicates that the content, level and quality of training of school graduates meets the requirements of state educational standards. According to the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education”, in order to obtain accreditation, a school must operate with a license for at least three years and graduate at least one student. Accreditation gives the school the right to issue state documents to its graduates, that is, certificates of secondary education. Otherwise, its graduates after 11th grade will have to take exams not in their own, but in another accredited school and with a different teacher.

Thirdly, the personality of the director is like a mirror of a private school. Often a detailed conversation with the director is enough to learn a lot about the school, feel its atmosphere and gain confidence in it. When choosing a school, be sure to take a closer look at the students. Students are a mirror in which everything is reflected. Only a student can show the level of the school in which he studies. In addition to the appearance of the students, you can pay attention to how often and how successfully the students of a given school take part in various Olympiads.

Marina Gmyzina, director of gymnasium No. 157:

— There is an opinion that it is easy to enroll in a private school - the main thing is to pay. But today this applies, perhaps, only to low-level schools experiencing a shortage of students. Currently, entrance testing, which determines the child’s level of readiness for learning, is not at all uncommon. In addition, sometimes even parents have to be “weeded out.” A kind of face control is in effect, and mothers and fathers who initially behave aggressively and self-confident may not pass it.

Non-state schools, as a rule, offer a more attentive approach to the child. This means that in such a school, firstly, the child will be respected as an individual, and secondly, they will not harm his health. In addition, private education provides a wider range of services than a regular school. In our gymnasium, for example, for every holiday, parents are given an individual sheet of literature recommended specifically for their child and the best options for additional education.

Private school abroad

Many people have heard about their advantages: schools offer students a huge list of basic and additional subjects to choose from, the program includes fine arts, music, sports, several foreign languages, after classes you can study in clubs of interest, on-site classes are regularly held - in museums, theaters , nature reserves, in other cities or even countries. In other words, the child is given the opportunity to try everything and decide what he likes best, what he can do better, what he will do next. From a private school (any school, not just British) there is a direct route to university: according to statistics, over 90% of graduates of these schools receive higher education, they make up a third of all university students.

The main advantage of any Western school is that from childhood a person is taught to be independent and taught to make the right choice. Foreign school education, despite all the richness of its programs, is more specialized and focused on the student’s future profession. The task of the school is to provide not only general education, but also useful knowledge and skills, to prepare for adult life.

What's better?

The choice of school is usually determined by two factors: language and the availability of information about the education system in a particular country. As you know, English is the most widely spoken and useful language, and English classical education has a reputation as the best in the world.

Today, about 20,000 foreign children study in British schools, including many schoolchildren from Russia. Foreigners, of course, are enriching English private schools that were once closed to outsiders, introducing new things, and forcing something to change in the familiar system. But the British are still conservative, and in education, perhaps, conservatism manifests itself more than anywhere else.

A foreign school in general (and a British school in particular) is a great test of perseverance and survival. No matter how good the school is, a foreign child always faces problems, mainly psychological. A foreign country, a foreign school, a foreign class, where, on top of everything else, no one understands your native language, and everyone laughs at your English. In a confined space where boarding school students spend all their time, clashes and conflicts inevitably arise (by the way, typical for any children's groups). All this must be experienced. But not everyone is capable of this. A more gentle way is to start with preparatory centers for foreigners and international schools.

International schools, which are designed for foreign children, try to adapt to the needs of students from abroad: here you will find additional lessons in English as a foreign language and a special adaptation and preparatory course. The strengths of British school education are consistency, good general preparation and a serious course in science (natural science, physics, chemistry). In an English private school, children are not only taught, but also educated.

Other countries have their own advantages. In Germany, they teach philosophy and mathematics better than anyone else in Europe (however, in the latter, the Germans are now surpassed by Austria and Switzerland), in France there are strong historical and humanitarian cycles, in Switzerland they teach foreign languages, finance and etiquette well, in America - law, political science, economics, computer science. In private schools in Switzerland, France, Germany and America, compared to the UK, the rules are less strict and the atmosphere is warmer.

In Kazan

Now in Kazan a diverse private school education is offered. There are options for both in-depth language learning with accompanying trips abroad, as well as a completely standard, but paid education. In addition, there are even religious private schools that provide parents with confidence that their child will follow the “righteous” path. These schools have one thing in common - an individual approach and concern for the physical and psychological comfort of children.

Private schools today are treated differently. And most often negative. Many because they do not trust everything non-state, and many because they do not trust new trends. But are private schools really an innovation? Not at all. The first institutions of this kind appeared in our country more than three hundred years ago.

And by the middle of the 18th century, nobles were allowed to educate their children directly at home. The quality of knowledge deteriorated sharply because foreigners were hired as charlatans.

But the October Revolution interrupted the chronicle of Russian private education for a long time. And only in 1991 it raised its head again.

Private school today. Instead of the term “private” it would be more correct to use the word “non-state”. Because the term “private” implies not only the form of ownership, but also the right of the owner to do what he sees fit. However, commercial schools do not have such freedom. If a school is accredited by the state, then according to the law on education it is absolutely adequate to the state one. Only the sources of funding differ, but the programs, requirements, standards, exams and certification are the same.

If the school is not accredited, then in order to receive a state-issued certificate and with it the opportunity to enter Russian universities, students of private educational institutions are enrolled in an external program at a public school, where they take exams.

Private schools are:

- Russian and foreign;
- secular and with a religious bias;
- with different educational systems;
- with different payment systems.

Advantages of private schools:

- The first and, perhaps, main advantage of private education is an individual approach to the child. After all, children are all different: some grasp faster, some slower, some like to communicate with the teacher, others are withdrawn. In this sense, in a private school it is almost always possible to give the child as much attention as required, because the class size rarely exceeds 12 - 14 people. As a rule, when drawing up an agreement with parents, schools usually stipulate the maximum number of students in a class.
- In some private schools, an individual curriculum is developed for each child, depending on the psychological type of the individual and the ultimate goal that it is desirable to achieve. And if parents want their child to study a foreign language or physics in depth, the school will do everything possible to ensure this.
- Another plus is comfortable conditions (comfortable furniture, good food), organization of the school day in such a way that children have time for sports, walks, and recreational activities - all these factors allow you to maximize the child’s abilities, without overwork and overload.
- In a private school, the problem of financial incentives is being solved for teachers who do not have to change their field of activity in search of income. On the contrary, they are given a chance to realize their creative potential in what they love. Teachers and directors of non-state schools admit that the material deprivation experienced by teachers in regular schools and constant thoughts about their daily bread are a significant obstacle to the development of modern Russian education. In private schools, it is possible to follow global trends in education, teachers study special literature on pedagogy and psychology, and quickly introduce modern methods.
- The opportunity for in-depth study of a number of disciplines is another positive feature of studying at a private school. Almost all non-state schools teach at least two foreign languages. Moreover, one is studied from the first grade, and the second from the 4th-5th grade. If there is enough strength, the student can also take a third language. The opportunity to apply acquired knowledge in practice is provided by trips abroad, which private schools try to organize regularly.

Disadvantages of private education:

- The quality of education in private schools does not always correspond to what is stated. Here it is necessary to choose an educational institution especially carefully. You shouldn't put much faith in various experimental programs that focus on one particular discipline. Such points as “equipped computer classes”, “additional language, music or tennis classes” should not influence the choice of school - it is obvious that all this should be in a school that positions itself as private.
- Much attention should be paid to the basic program, because this is what will be needed when the child enters university. In addition, parents should remember that if previously a student from a school that had a certain agreement with one or another university entered there on a preferential basis, now the practice of combining final exams in schools with entrance exams to universities has been officially abolished, that is, they will have to enroll on a general basis .

Private education: pros and cons

Back in the 17th century in Russia there were masters of literacy who taught children to read and write for money. Later, during the reign of Peter I, the first private institutions appeared, where both boys and girls studied (before that, it was believed that women had no need for literacy). And by the middle of the 18th century, nobles were allowed to educate their children directly at home. The quality of knowledge deteriorated sharply because foreigners were hired as charlatans.

Private school today

Instead of the term “private” it would be more correct to use the word “non-state”. Because the term “private” implies not only the form of ownership, but also the right of the owner to do what he sees fit. However, commercial schools do not have such freedom. If a school is accredited by the state, then according to the law on education it is absolutely adequate to the state one. The only difference is that the programs, requirements, standards, exams and certificates are the same. If the school is not accredited, then in order to receive a state-issued certificate and with it the opportunity to enter Russian universities, students of private educational institutions are enrolled in an external program at a public school, where they take exams.

Private schools are:

Russian and foreign; secular and with a religious bias; with different educational systems; with different payment systems.

Lyubov Ovsienko, Deputy Minister of Education:

Today, our society has already formed a class of people who are ready to pay for school education for their children. In response to the needs of society, the private school sector must begin to develop more actively. It is completely unacceptable that potential clients of such schools send their children to study abroad. This is economically unprofitable for the republic, so special government programs will be developed aimed at helping to develop the private education sector.

prosprivate schools

The opportunity for in-depth study of a number of disciplines is another positive feature of studying at a private school. Almost all non-state schools teach at least two foreign languages. Moreover, one is studied from the first grade, and the second from the 4th-5th grade. If there is enough strength, the student can also take a third language. The opportunity to apply acquired knowledge in practice is provided by trips abroad, which private schools try to organize regularly.

Natalya Akhatova, director of the private school "Elena-Service":

I think teachers need to be freed from painful thoughts about where to get money to feed their own children. Then there will be not only Pushkin evenings, but also other events that require a special creative approach from the teacher. The teacher should be calm about his earnings - the businessman-entrepreneur who owns the school should worry about this. In addition, the work of a teacher becomes much more effective when there are half as many students in a class instead of 30.

Disadvantages of private education

How to choose a school

Marina Gmyzina, director of gymnasium No. 000:

There is an opinion that enrolling in a private school is easy - the main thing is to pay. But today this applies, perhaps, only to low-level schools experiencing a shortage of students. Currently, entrance testing, which determines the child’s level of readiness for learning, is not at all uncommon. In addition, sometimes even parents have to be “weeded out.” A kind of face control is in effect, and mothers and fathers who initially behave aggressively and self-confident may not pass it.

Private school abroad

Many people have heard about their advantages: schools offer the student a huge list of basic and additional subjects to choose from, the program includes fine arts, music, sports, several foreign languages, after lessons you can study in clubs of interest, on-site classes are regularly held - in museums, theaters , nature reserves, in other cities or even countries. In other words, the child is given the opportunity to try everything and decide what he likes best, what he can do better, what he will do next. From a private school (any school, not just a British one) there is a direct route to the university: according to statistics, over 90% of graduates of these schools receive higher education, they make up a third of all university students.

What's better?

Today, many foreign children study in British schools, including many schoolchildren from Russia. Foreigners, of course, are enriching English private schools that were once closed to outsiders, introducing new things, and forcing something to change in the familiar system. But the British are still conservative, and in education, perhaps, conservatism manifests itself more than anywhere else.

Other countries have their own advantages. Germany teaches philosophy and mathematics better than anyone in Europe (although in the latter the Germans are now surpassed by Austria and Switzerland), France has strong historical and humanities courses, Switzerland teaches foreign languages, finance and etiquette well, America teaches law, political science, economics, computer science. In private schools in Switzerland, France, Germany and America, compared to the UK, the rules are less strict and the atmosphere is warmer.

In Kazan

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