Parents in Ingushetia complained about fees in schools and kindergartens.

The problem of fees in schools and kindergartens in Ingushetia has been relevant for a long time, despite officials regularly making statements about their illegality. At the same time, refusing to pay money will affect the attitude towards the child and their academic performance, parents complained on social media.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 8, 2022, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ingushetia called on residents to report attempts to collect money for the needs of state kindergartens after complaints were received by the agency. Social media users then pointed out that the problem is also relevant in schools.

Schools should independently provide everything necessary for the educational process, and pressure on parents regarding school fees is unacceptable, stated the deputy chairman of the All-Russian Education Trade Union Mikhail Avdeenko.

"The school itself should provide everything needed for the educational process. Pressure on parents regarding fees for school needs is unacceptable," Avdeenko's words were quoted by RIA "Novosti".

These clarifications were also published by the Instagram*-public "themagastimes24", which has about 30 thousand followers. As of 10:15 MSK on September 2, this post received 97 likes and 85 comments.

Users identifying themselves as residents of Ingushetia reported that the collection of money in schools has been ongoing for a long time. "It repeats year after year, and nothing changes," noted axmdutch.

"As I understood, if you don't contribute, then the attitude will be different. You also have to consider your children; I've been through this, so I say it's useless to complain: it's either a wardrobe, a baseboard, a chandelier, windows, and they also collect 2,000 from each child for Teacher's Day. If you don't participate, it means you're not like all those who pay, and the attitude towards our children is different. What is happening in the republic?" asked user silence__001.

"Schools are clever; they created a parent committee. In each committee, there is a parent leader who collects money "voluntarily". They create groups in WhatsApp* and it starts. The leader writes: parents, today is the teacher's birthday, let's contribute 3,000 each. There are parents who start in this group: oh, let's do it. And you watch from the side and see the names of your children's classmates who sent money, and it seems to you, and sometimes it happens: if you didn't pay, your child will study poorly, etc. <…> Then it starts: the class needs repairs, flowers for the school," noted a user with the nickname vse_nevajno.

Commenters noted that parents of kindergarten children also face similar collections. "It would be great if they wrote about kindergartens too!" wrote beko.va3.

"Don't forget about kindergartens too," noted fatima2233568.

"When my child started going to kindergarten a few years ago, we, the mothers, were gathered at a parent meeting and they said: we don't have this, we don't have that. If you can, please help. I said I could talk to the kindergarten director, that all these needs are funded from above. <…> In the end, everyone contributed except me," shared omm_2901_.

Some commenters linked school fees to insufficient funding for educational institutions and emphasized that expenses should not be shifted onto teachers. "All questions should be directed to the Ministry of Education and above. What can schools have if they are not properly funded? There is a real problem with textbooks; their condition is terrible. A complete set is not provided for each student. The rest has to be bought. The prices for these journals, not textbooks, are astronomical… I don't understand how average large families manage?" noted user lavanda_ing_.

"I think this message should be delivered to the Ministry of Education itself. Let them ensure that state funds reach their final destination, whether for repairs or textbooks. Otherwise, every year, teachers end up being the ones who have to do repairs with their own money from their already small salaries," emphasized magomed_alihanov_.

As of 10:17 MSK on September 2, there are no comments on the Ministry of Education and Science of Ingushetia's website regarding parents' complaints about money collections in schools and kindergartens.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that earlier, market traders in Nazran said that local residents are forced to save on school supplies due to rising prices. According to them, parents buy clothes only for the upcoming season, and stationery as needed. The minimum cost of a first-grader's set is estimated at no less than 13,500 rubles, excluding textbooks.

In August 2019, parents of Ingush schoolchildren reported significant expenses for preparing children for school, including the need to buy missing textbooks.