Practically all these tasks in the one or other form have been embodied in the Federal program of the development of education many of them are already solving. In an informative term their solution in Chapter 2 is considered.

Socio-political aspect. In pre-reformed Russia at a level of public consciousness the value of education always stood in the foreground. The policy which is carried out by the state, and attitude to education in different layers of society testified also to that.

Nevertheless, though the problems of science, culture and education development were under steadfast attention of the state, but the policy of financing of these spheres from year to year was formed on a "residual" principle. On a boundary of the 1990th such approach has become to call the increasing boring in the Russian society, that could not but find reflections in a position of the state. Over several years at a level of USSR Government was adopted a number of orders for insuring education state support.

Beginning from 1992 the tendency to a disagreement between declared priority of education and actual policy, aimed at reduction of the state expenditure in this sphere,. The desire for shifting the burden of education system financing on to the parents and students shoulders has become more clear to be exhibited.

In the years 1993-1994 pedagogical public had feel, that the state and citizens, have become turned in complicated economical situation, have concluded secret union: "Now it is not up to children, not up to education requirements, it is necessary simply to survive". The concern to education among children and youth dropped. They did not feel need in it, as the life realities were those, that the education did not give advantages in "survival". Little by little, however, the attitude has become to vary, - the value of education has become to grow in the parents consciousness, and children, The numerous sociological data inquiries which are carried out by the experts of the Russian academy of sciences, Russian Academy of education, State committee on youth of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Education testified to that.

Nevertheless the Government policy remained invariable - expenditures on education were reduced, the share of paid educational services even in public sector of education system has grown.

The positive change in Government policy has come at the end of 1998. Though the budgetary granting for education system support as a whole have not engaged, the course on improving of the situation with current financing, debt servicing on a salary to the teachers, grants and stipends to the student was taken. For the first time during period of reorganizations the solution of education issues has quitted at a level of the Chairman of Russian Government.

The new Ministry of Education authority has taken a clear and accountable position: education of citizens is function of the state, and it is to execute this function responsible, being grounded on necessity for a meeting the person and society requirements. The structural reorganizations of the Ministry which have occurred in the same time, have reflected an increasing the Government attention to education sphere: for the first time in the Ministry structure the Department of supervising general problems of prognosis, planning and monitoring of en education system development has appeared.

Historically has developed so, that the professional education problems were under more steadfast attention of the state, rather than problems of general education development. Now the policy priorities began to change: compulsory education (education for all) problems go out on the foreground. There is a weighty reason for this – the nature of a demographic situation changing, sharp reduction of birth rate. Just from a including children of full value quality general secondary education including a possibility of its continuation at more high levels (the ability to study), directly will depend on of forming intellectual and labor resources of a nation forming and its "human capital".

The new global vision of the world development, legalized in the second half of XX centuries, is reflected of coordinated understanding that the only significant resources are as soon as knowledge, people ingenuity, imagination and good will. Without them any stable progress regarding the peace, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, poverty eradication, elimination of origin reasons of conflicts in human community is impossible. Decisive role in providing positive modifications plays education.

In development of these ideas in the UNESCO program document "Reform and development of higher education", published in 1995, was said, that at the present stage any country without the specialists training at a good level can not provide a progress level adequate to requirements and hopes of society, in which the economical development is realized in view of necessity of environment preservation and is accompanied by activity on forming "culture of world" on the basis of principles democracy, tolerance and mutual respect, in other words "stable human development" is provided.

Realization of this principle discovers a reflection both in the Ministry plans on reforming "education for all": in a raise of the compulsory education standard up to the level of general complete secondary education, in increasing schooling duration till 12 years (from 6 to 17 years old), in the sphere of innovations education content and technology, in the more complete registration of educational requirements of different groups and layers of the population. Modification of the education development strategy and its priorities has found the reflection in the updated variant of the Federal program of the development of education [24].

Financial policy. Both positive and negative modifications in the education sphere occurred and occur on the background of the stable drop of education state budgetary financing opportunities down to the crisis phases of its sharp restriction and complete (temporal) extinction of separate expenditures items financing.

The budget remains as the basic source of educational institutions activity financing. For the last years the dynamics of budgetary financing was characterized by the tendency to decreasing of expenditures part on education in planned indicators of the federal budget. In view of chronic shortfall of the budget happened not only relative, but also absolute reduction of these expenditures. The second important aspect of this process is the expressed cut off the budgetary financing from requirements of an education sphere, determined on the basis of operating legislative and normative regulations (sizes of the teaching staff salary, other categories of the workmen, mandatory extra charges to the official rates of pay, operating region coefficients to a salary, legislative established size of the stipend).

Table 37

Budget expenditures on education

(billion rubles)

NOTE. The data for 1998 are given with regard to denomination from 01.01.98.

Russia currently has a three tiered system of educational management: the federal level, the regional level and the municipal level [5].

The decision making in the field of education at the federal level is the competence of:

• President of the Russian Federation. In the President Administration the Department supervising education issues is operating;
• Federal Assembly: Council of Federation has Committee for Education, Science, Culture, Health and Ecology; the State Duma –Committee for Education and Science;
• Chairman of the Russian Federation Government (in the Apparatus of Government there is a Department responsible for education);
• The Government of the Russian Federation, the constituent parts of which are the Ministry of Education and other ministries comprising the subordinated educational establishments.

The regional level of decision making in the field of education is the competence of legislative and executive boards of the subjects of Federation. Local (municipal) – in competence of local authorities.

The management issues of education system are regulated by Articles 28-37, chapter III of Federal Law "On education".

In Russia there are 89 administrative units (subjects of Federation), that include oblasts, krais, republics autonomous, regions as well as the two large cities - Moscow and St.-Petersburg. The organizational structure of regions education varies across them owing to peculiarities of the authority structure and assignments of authoritative powers at territories. The head of a region is usually called a president in republics, governor in oblasts and krais, and in the case of the cities – a mayor. Within them there is a regional administration known also, which also called a Council of Ministers or the Government, this consisted the sectoral departments, which includes the Department of Education are constituent part of them. The regional administration commonly includes the Department of Education, other sectoral departments and state and non-state councils.

The Regional Department of Education defines regional education policy, taking into consideration all types educational establishments allocated on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation, but it manages only kindergartens, schools (most of this being part of municipality competence), partly - initial vocational schools and higher schools founded by the regions administration (other higher schools are mainly under the federal jurisdiction). Some pre-schools and specialized secondary schools are financed by state-owned enterprises firms, but these are increasingly being shifted to the regional or municipal authorities.

Rural and urban municipalities have their own educational structures. In urban areas a city Department (Board) of Education presides over the district level (region) Department of education. The number of ryons in a city depends on its population. Schools are mandated by departments of education within their rayon. A principal presides over each school supported by a school council, elected by the teachers, staff and parents. Because of rural areas has fewer schools under their jurisdiction than urban areas, the education management system is much simpler.

In the interests of carrying out the unified educational policy, in August, 1996 the Ministry of Education and the State committee on a higher education were merged in the joint the Ministry of general and professional education (as of August, 1999 – the Ministry of Education).

Policy of the Ministry in many respects is dictated by complexity of political and economical relations between Federal Government and regions. And still creation of the joint Ministry responsible for all education, meets the experience of the increasing amount of the world countries. One of the consequence is that for a large spectrum of issues the only administrations staff for, which has a lot of subdivisions. Amalgamation of educational sectors: schools, professional and higher education is paid compliments, as it leads to cooperation in usage of buildings, equipment and personnel potential, to reallocation of functions of a present infrastructure, that it is better to reflect requirements of economics. The joint Ministry gives education the higher status in government and allows to draw enough attentions to educational problems. At the same time there is a need for more tight relations and interaction between Ministry of Education and some other ministries having subordinated of educational establishments.

Role of the Ministry of Education. The diversiform functions are assigned to the Ministry including:

• preparing strategic policy for educational system overall and providing within which other partners in the system can best fulfil their responsibilities;
• developing a scheme of educational standards and establishing a system of the quality assurance appropriate in relating to national educational standards;
• working together with Government on providing the budget in line with announced responsibilities;
• providing the conceptual comprehension of the essence of decentralizing in education, explanation of its elements and coordination of its realization;
• assist in drafting credible, implementable local educational legislation. The Ministry, certainly, does not bear full responsibility for development of the legislation, but, because of its special knowledge and area of responsibilities needs to take a pro-active stance in the guiding determination of the educational legislation;
• promoting equality within the education system and paying particular attention to the needs of those least able to help themselves;
• continuing to establish, develop and help co-ordinate agreements with regions. The policy of entering into agreements with each of the region was and should continue to be important strategy. It provides a means to respect the extreme diversity of regional needs, conditions and cultures;
• collecting and analysis educational information and data national purposes. Data collection should enable the Ministry to monitor the extent to which new policies unparticular, are being successively implemented it should also be able to identify key tends, including per capita expenditures in different category, establish the teacher recruitment and graduate rates student choice and destinations at the end of 9 and 11 years of general education etc. Such information should increase quality of policy development and advise and shed light on the point that give cause for concern or intervention in decentralizing system;
• regulating and ensuring compliance at the basis of collection activities: monitoring and checking the legal-or other probity of the system;
• engaging and providing research and development projects, to help the effectiveness and further policy development at the system;
• setting out general standards for textbooks publishers and promoting the publication of high-quality textbooks and teaching materials;
• identifying the progressive practice and engaging in their dissemination to regions and municipalities;
• providing reports and general policy reflection and advise on progress of education system;
• leasing with politicians and the social and educational partners, on educational issues. This is a critical role in helping to maintain the "Russian space in education" and the Ministry alone has a global vision of the system, which needs to communicate with other stakeholders.

The permanently varying external conditions of an education system operation, including the annual limitation of budgetary financing funds, have demanded from the Ministry and educational establishments of adopting adequate measures for perfecting the organizational and economical mechanism of an education system operation.

To the basic directions of perfecting are referred:

• regulating of "manipulations" with the property objects in an education system, including the improvement of mechanisms of the rights exercising to the state ownership objects; carrying out an active coordinated policy in the state and landlords interests protection; working out legal base for investment projects in an education system;
• developing system of multi-founderness, introducing forms of public control over (trustee council);
• passing system of normative financing of educational establishments; setting up budgetary financing standards counting per one student and, as a result, allocation of budgetary funds by a uniform indicator without allocating by expenditures items;
• widening directions and sources of the out-of-budgetary funds supply;
• further perfecting the taxation and budgetary legislation with the purpose of creation of the supplemental sources of education financing and raise the efficiency of allocated budgetary funds usage;
• providing a social protection and strengthening of address social support of the workmen and students;
• establish of system of training and retraining of educational personnel for operation in new conditions, including training of professional managers (administrators) for educational establishments.

The standards defining provision and service of compulsory education are contained in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Federal Law "On education" [5].

Issues of education system management are regulated by Articles 28-37, Chapter III, Federal Law "On education".

To the issues are referred:

• competence of the Russian Federation in the field of education;
• competence of the Russian Federation subjects in the field of education;
• order of competence allocation betwwen public authorities and education management bodies;
• competence of local authorities in the field of education;
• competence and responsibilities of educational establishment;
• way of creating and regulation of educational establishment activity (issues of licensing, attestation and accreditation);
• procedure of reorganization and liquidation of educational establishment;
• management of state and municipal educational establishment;
• non-state educational establishment management;
• education management bodies in the Russian Federation and their competencies;
• state control over education quality.

The issues of an education system financing are regulated by the federal Law "On education" and law "On federal budget".

In competence of the Russian Federation are the issues of annual definition federal income percentage on education financing; forming federal budget in respect to expenses on education; forming federal funds of education development; depending on fiscal privileges stimulating development of education, federal standards financing of training students and pupils, order of educational establishments and definition of minimum rate sizes of salary and official salaries of educational establishments workmen.

In competence of the subjects of Federation are the issues of a financial reinforcement of state guarantees of accessibility and compulsion of basic general education by allocation of subventions to the local budgets; forming budgets of the subjects of Federation in respect to expenses on education and appropriate funds of education development; defining local taxes and collections on the education goals, republican and regional standards of education financing; organization of educational establishments financing; setting up supplemental privileges to students, pupils and educational establishments workmen and kinds and standards of their material security.

To competence of local authorities are issues of forming local budgets in respect to expenses on education and appropriate funds for education development, working out and adoption of local financing standards of an education system; defining additional taxes and privileges stimulating development of education.

The Federal Government continue to define parameters of financing policy of large sectors of educational system (for example, level of the salaries and measure of social protection of employees, financing of higher education).

In this connection there is a lot of problems, related to issues of management and financing education system.

As the Federal Government can not pay the fiscal obligations for within its is responsible for, the regions are still responsible for them. All educational levels collide with each other in struggle for financing, but besides they compete to other social and economical sectors that are in regional competence. The inequality of regions (in financial respect) means increasing discrepancies in educational potentialities and education quality.

Without specification of each management level competence on fundamental problems, such as taxes and financing, base for a constructive policy development and agreement in such specialized field as education will be weak. Even in spite of the fact that the Ministry of Education formally has power and tends to conclude agreements with all regions, its authority can be severe undermined, if the Government will not take decision in critically important fields of financing and taxation. The Ministry has not enough possibility to watch and achieve execution of policy in all vast "educational space" of the Russian Federation. As a result, regions and their parts, universities and schools elaborate their own policy , apply for its financing and support to non-federal sources.

The Law "On education" consolidates distribution powers between education management bodies at all levels. The Article 27 of the Constitutions of the Russian Federation refers common issues of educational policy to the field of joint competence of the Russian Federation and its subjects. However in these legislative acts there are no legible naming of those spheres of responsibility, which are controlled by that or other level. As a result not only insufficient accountability arises, but also the systematic character in an administrative chain is broken. In this connection it is planned to make appropriate amendments and supplements into Articles 28, 29 and 31 of Law "On education".

The federal authorities are responsible for development and implementation of educational policy. In 1995 the Ministry of Education has approved the federal project of state educational standards as the pattern for expertise and assessment of basic education quality. Federal components has fixed the basic assessment of quality for each educational level, by defining minimally indispensable number of teaching hours. The regional and school components of basic plan should accordingly be elaborated at regional and institutional level.

For the exception of the educational policy development the Ministry of Education organize and coordinate textbooks publishing, their press and distribution. In the future the Ministry of Education plan to cooperate with all "stakeholders", training teachers, creating board of trustees assisting to the school principles in realizing school management, and promotion strengthening of education prestige for parents.

The regional authorities, as well as federal bodies, answer for many functions of education and their competencies frequently are intersected. The regions develop and implement programs of educational initiatives, develop a contents of education, train the teachers, co-ordinate publishing and distribution of teaching materials, provide information inferior levels and citizens. They are responsible for licensing and accrediting of educational establishments (both state, and private), being under their authority.

Development a of education content, training teachers and assessment of their activity, providing by textbooks and quality control also are realized by municipal bodies, which also dispose the educational budget and management financing of establishments, but also control for educational premises and buildings, their contents and letting. The municipal authorities have the right to open and close schools which are under their jurisdiction.

Analysis of different management levels competencies shows, that each level of management fulfils almost the same functions. The law "On education" has given regions and municipalities large freedom in carrying out educational reform, however mechanism of real power transfer from a federal government to lower levels, except for the formal agreements is not enough worked through.

Among regions also there is a large discord in competencies area. In some oblasts exists the obvious excess of responsibilities, in the others, on the contrary, oversight. Both federal and regional, and local bodies are engaged in the contents education developing, however almost nobody elaborates the mechanisms of plans coordination among themselves and accountability to all circles of the society concerned.

The enumeration of the finance sources and way of their usage (with reference to compulsory education) is regulated by the Article 41 of federal Law "On education".

The elaboration of a state strategy for education development was carried out by broad community. In the total, the document – the Federal program of the development of education in Russia, underwent multilevel expertise and enjoyed support of the Government of the Russian Federation [11, 24, 49] is created. The implementation of the program is possible under condition of amplification of regional policy in the field of education, strengthening of partnership processes, that is great importance for Russia as a federated state.

In 1998 the attention to regional aspects of educational policy has increased sharply. In structure of the Ministry the special subdivision is created, the function of which, in particular, providing for direct cooperation of federal and regional levels of education management on all major directions of activity within the framework of joint conducting of common education issues.

Council of heads of education management bodies is formed. With their involvement the draft of Conception of regional policy is designed, which has become a basis for elaboration of appropriate action program. Such collective and repeated discussion of the issues has allowed to formulate following principled directions of regional educational policy based on unified principles of the federative structure of the state in view of peculiarities in the field of education, which is under joint authority of the Russian Federation and subjects of Federation:

• Unified state educational policy stipulates variety of its implementation in view of specificity sociums of the subjects of the Russian Federation, their economical and social condition and priorities of complex development. The joint efforts of federal Center and subjects of the Russian Federation should be directed at creation in all regions of conditions for public of a general and professional education.
• Unified and specified nature of a education contents come true by the state educational standards developing and separate approval of their federal components – by the federal state authorities; nation-regional components – by the state authorities of the subjects of Federation. On these bases the development of national schools in the subjects of the Russian Federation is provided also.
• Status of educational establishments on territories of the subjects of the Russian Federation is differentiated by their basic founders (federal, subject of the Russian Federation, municipal, non-state). In so doing it should be encouraged joint founding, that is connected to formation of the educational establishment property, involvement in financing its primary activity.
• Stable development of federative inter-budgetary relations in the interests of education area. Consolidated budgetary relations in combination with raising a role and share of out-of-budgetary financing sources of educational activity and social development of educational establishments collectives can become perspective.
• Control processes of regional educational policy are the constituent part of regional policy as a whole at the basis of principles of civilized federalism. The special urgency, in the last years, the problem of interaction of federal, regional (subjective) and local authorities on subjects continuing, to which the education sphere is referred also.
• According to the Article 78 of the Constitutions of the Russian Federation on subjects of joint conducting federal executive bodies and the executive bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation should constitute the uniform system of the executive authority in the Russian Federation. According to the Article 12 of the Constitutions of the Russian Federation the local authorities are not the part of system of state authorities. Thus, "vertical" of the executive authority practically is breakup. It is in full measure referred to interaction of federal, regional and municipal education management bodies. The overcoming of the formed gap in management of all-Russian and regional education systems can be done by optimal combination of principles of coordination and subordination in interaction of territorial and sectoral of education management bodies by restoring mechanisms of "double subordination". Leaders of regional structures of education management should be appointed as agreed with a federal education management body, and heads of municipal structures education of management of - as agreed with a regional education management body.
• Interaction of federal and regional executive bodies in the field of education is regulated not by signing of general contracts and agreements, but joint elaboration and approval of concrete programs of regional education systems development with legible definition of the obligations of each side. The new generation of programs of regional education systems development should implement idea of territorial integrity of all links and structural relations of educational establishments. The solution of these tasks is substantial not only on the basis of integration of potentialities and efforts of federal, regional and local authorities, educational establishments, academic and civil public.

Regional educational policy - is a subject of management not only federal, regional and local authorities, but also academic and parent community, structures of business, civil society. Fixed by the Law "On education" state-public character of education management in our country is fruitfully implemented on all-federal level and in majority of the subjects of the Russian Federation. It, first of all, is referred to unions and associations of higher and secondary professional school. Pedagogical public of a comprehensive school is structured less actively. For the last years authority and influence in regions at trustee boards of educational establishments and integrated educational centers grow. The influence of constructive forces of academic and civil public can become more efficient, if under their activity in the field of education the adequate legal background will be provided.

• Further development of legislative legal providing functioning all-Russian and regional systems education, as the available federal acts, including base law "On education", by a number of relevant directions either have become outdated, or contradict substantial processes in education field. Much more legislative problems were accumulated in the subjects of the Russian Federation, many of which until now have not the laws on education, and approved ones sometimes contradict the federal acts. Has ripened necessity of preparing federal code on education, including issues of regional local legislation.

For the last few years at a federal level the number of the international projects in the field of pre-school education is implemented:

• The Russian-Netherlands project "Socio-emotional development of the child";
• The Russian -Finnish project "The world of childhood";
• The Russian -Netherlands projects "The Early development of a child", "Teacher of pre-school education".

International cooperation in children education area with the special requirements both on federal, and regional levels is fruitfully developed. Most significant is the implementation during 6 years of the joint projects with the specialists of Flanders (Belgium), including those on labor training and integration of children with peculiarities of development, early children's autism, psychology-medico-social centers creation. In 1998 within the framework of the project the municipal pattern of special (correctional) education in Odintzov region of the Moscow area was perfected.

In 1998 the Russian scientists and teachers have taken part in a number of international conferences on professional education.

As a whole over Russia in the field of an initial vocational education the more than 80 international projects in 37 subjects of Federation are implemented. These projects, mainly, are implemented on the basis of direct relations of the Russian educational establishments and foreign educational establishments and organizations. Often the management education bodies are involved in them.

The main directions of these projects implementation, as a rule, are in presentations of one and other side achievements, training of engineering-pedagogical staff, exchange of industrial and pedagogical technologies. All this creates positive motivation to innovative activity.

Since 1996 a principal new international pilot project "Reform of a professional education and training in North-West region of Russia" is implemented.

The main goal of the project - creation of efficient sectoral or regional patterns of a professional education reforming, which it would be possible to use in other regions.

Central place in the project are study of a labor market and interaction of educational establishments with the partners.

Within the framework of the project together with the foreign partners the monitoring technique of a labor market and plan of analyzing enterprises of region requirements was designed; as well as the estimation of an economical situation in region and prognosis of its development is conducted; predicting development of concrete sector of economics; assessment and development prognosis of enterprises activity in region, and the number and sizes of enterprises, assessment and prognosis of manpower deficit.

The team working of educational establishments on the aspects with bodies on a labor and employment of the population, employers has created the precondition for establishing consultative councils as new organizational form of regular cooperation in the field of a professional education.

In the Russian conditions the system of partnership has not been formed. Relying upon foreign partnership experience, the Russian participants of the project came to conclusion about expediency of its establishing. In doing so, the initiative should be undertaken by education sector, joining efforts of surrounding it enterprises, firms, associations, coordinating their opportunities for solution their own tasks. Thus, consultative council - is a body including the representatives of all partners of educational establishments. The basic purpose of its foundation is developing and perfecting professional education system in modern economic conditions. Its main tasks comprises: elaboration of proposals for planning of training in view of prediction and analysis of a labor market, adjustment of curricula and programs according to the market needs; elaboration of recommendations for creation of a state qualified structure.

In addition, the main partner of educational establishment is an enterprise. And, as have shown debates with the foreign colleagues within the framework of this project, the world experience prefers just this variant of partner relations as the most efficient. Therefore educational establishments - are participants of the project have made first step on ways of the optimal interaction pattern of employers and educational establishments to be created

.On general results of this project implementation expertise was conducted, and on the basis of its results the European Fund of Training decided to continue the project implementation.

Besides, the second phase of the project will be focused on following priority directions:

• perfecting of regional education management bodies activity;
• stimulating development of the system of a lifelong professional education.

The experience of this project implementation is utilized by the Ministry when elaborating of technical specifications on accomplishment of other international projects, such as "Delphi" and project IBRD "Support of re-structuring of education system", one of which components just is named "Professional training". Their basic goal - Improvement of the regional pattern of reforming the system of initial vocational education.

In addition, within the framework of cooperation with OECD the expert group of the Center on cooperation with countries-non-members the investigation of the education system of Russia conducted and the detailed report "Review of national educational policy. the Russian Federation" is prepared [30].

Within the framework of the long-term TACIS project, the National observatory of professional education is created and operates [29].

International organizations give financial support to processes of reforming and development of education system of Russia. So, in 1998 the first borrow at a rate of $71 million from IBRD is received. The Soros foundation renders financial support at a rate of $10 millions annually. Within the framework of the program TACIS on four projects also is allocated $10 millions annually; on the program TEMPUS - $11 millions in the year.

The consolidated expenses on education form of funds allocated by federal, regional and local budgets. In total volume of consolidated expenses the share of regional granting constitutes more than 80%. These expenses on education for the last 4 years do not exceed 40 % of the gross domestic product, share of expenses from federal budget - 1,6 % of the gross domestic product.

Since 1992 the share of federal expenses is reduced, regional ones - grows. The main part of financial resources for general secondary education comes from the regional and local budgets.

As of 1996 in aggregate federal expenses on education the share of pre-school education constituted about 1,4 %, secondary education - 1,1 %, initial vocational education - 9,7 %; expenses for publishing of the federal textbooks set - 1,5 %, school vacation - 0,6%.

As of 1998 the general normative need of budgetary resources for education system of under federal authority was estimated at the level of 55 billion rubles. However, the planned size of budgetary granting was constituted 17,25 billion rubles (or about 31 % of the need) [27].

These funds were allocated by levels of education in the following sizes:

• pre-school education - 0,019 billion rubles;
• primary and general secondary education - 0,034 billion rubles;
• initial vocational education - 3,431 billion rubles;
• the secondary professional education - 0,924 billions rubles;
• retraining and further training - 0,047 billion rubles;
• tertiary education - 7,024 billion rubles;
• Other establishments, and expenses in the field of education - 0,178 billion rubles.

Size of investments in basic capital on item "education" for regions of Russia (in % of total volume of the investments) in 1997 [34] has constituted:

the Russian Federation as a whole - 1,6;

Northern region - 1,0;

North-West region - 1,4;

Central region - 1,5;

Volga-Vyatka region - 2,0;

Central-Chernozem region - 2,4;

Volzga region - 2,3;

North-Caucasus region - 1,0;

Urals region - 1,5;

West-Siberia region - 1,5;

East-Siberia region - 1,9;

Far East region - 3,2;

Kaliningrad Oblast - 1,1.

As of 1998 the program of investments on the Ministry of general and professional education was determined in the sum of 210,3 million rubles, including the programs:

"Development of education" - 75,2 million rubles;

"Children-orphans" - 118,5 million rubles;

"Dwelling" - 11,6 million rubles.

At coordinating programs of annual parameters it became possible to restore financing, absent within the last three years, for house-building and, for the first time, to begin construction of an object of research activity as an independent program.

On financing of education objects construction in 1998 from the federal budget the resources in the sum of 23,2 million rubles was allocated, against 12,3 million rubles in 1997 (or by 89 % more), and was prepared the documents on mutual discount for the sum of 58,4 million rubles against 35,8 million rubles in 1997 (or by 63 % more).

The Government of the Russian Federation approved recommendations for increasing of investments sizes on development of material and technical base of educational establishments for the "Children-orphans" program up to 109,2 million

rubles, for the program "Development of education" - up to 129,0 million rubles (in view of transferring functions of the state customer on separate objects to administrations of regions).

In separate regions (especially regions-"donors" of the federal budget) significant funds on education needs were allocated, the preferential tariffs for public utilities were set up.

All this has allowed in complex economic conditions not only to maintain sizes of the last year investments at the expense of the federal budget, but also to increase them, by providing thus maintenance of the process of escalating the educational system economic potential.

The problem of educational establishments providing by the teaching literature continues being still the one of the most difficult. Because of financial crisis, experienced by the education system, provision of educational establishments by the teaching literature in regions goes with the large work, and available at school library funds the teaching literature is extremely worn out and its renovation occurs by too slow rates.

At the same time it is necessary to mark positive tendencies, emerged in 1998, in issues of textbook publishing and providing educational establishments by the teaching literature. As the end of 1998 publishing houses, at the expense of all finance sources, the 69,0 million copies of the teaching literature for general educational establishments is released. This is by 16,2 million copies more than the last year.

In 1998 the funds to buying the teaching literature have been planned in the budgets of all levels. And the most part of these funds is the share of the regional budget.

Analysis of information presented by education management bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation, shows that in 1998 though from the regional budgets is allocated less, than last year, the teaching literature is sold more. The increasing of sales sizes goes at the expense of active operation with out-of-budgetary resources, first of all, parents’. A close attention to the solution of a problem of providing students from socially unprotected population strata by the textbooks.

As before, there is the acute problem of providing children of special (correctional) educational establishments with the textbooks. This year to the publishing of the literature for blind children in the federal budget was planned 27,7 million rubles, but the only 1,6 million rubles was allocated. The publishing of the teaching literature for the special education establishments, to which in the federal budget of 1998 was planned 15,0 million rubles, was carried out at the expense of the circulating capital of publishing houses, as from the federal budget money was not allocated.

Situation with the publication of the teaching literature on languages of the small peoples of Extreme North is a little bit better: from 5,5 million rubles, planned in the federal budget, is allocated 2,02 million rubles.

Within the World Bank credit for reforming of book printing the requirement specifications for creation information-analytical network of teaching book printing system are worked out, and also the conception of its reforming, which is included in the general conception on reforming of education system was designed.

Especially complex situation has turned out for establishments of an initial vocational education: quantity of published educational books and their editions were reduced in comparison with 1991 by the order: from 145 to 11 titles at average draw of 7 thousands copies in comparison with 51,9 thousands copies. But in 1997 publishing center "Academy" together with "Vycshaya shkola" published 15 titles, and Institute of development of a professional education – published about 20 names of the textbooks.

The centralized collecting of orders for textbooks and teaching aids published within the framework of the inter-publishing program now is carried out. The program includes about 100 names of teaching literature for establishments of an initial vocational education, which should be released up to the end of 2003. Work for creating mechanism of providing this program by allocation of target funds on the publishing and centralized buying of the textbooks and teaching aids with partial usage of regional and local sources of finance is underway.