OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2010. The Expert Council on Developing Competition in Education and Science at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) discussed comments and proposals to the draft Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation". The draft is prepared by a Working Group of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, formed in accordance with No.18 Protocol of the session of the Government Commission on legislative drafting activities of 18th May 2009, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Members of the Expert Council supported in general the FAS Russia's proposals to include in the draft Law provisions ensuring equal conditions for educational organizations of different legal forms and types of ownership, and formalizing equal access of private educational organizations to the market of educational services, participation in government programms and projects aimed at supporting education, and preserving education infrastructure.

The Council also supported FAS Russia's proposals on insuring educational activities. It was pointed out that insuring educational activities by mutual insurance would not affect the cost of education (for paid education services).

Deliberating amendments to the draft Law, members of the Expert Council proposed a principally distinct system of state accreditation of educational organizations, which differs from the existing system as well as from the new proposed wording of the law on education. Based on the experience of many foreign countries, the system proposed by the Council put the key emphasis on accreditation agencies, whose performance in assessing the quality of education is recognized by the regulatory bodies in the field of education in order to grant an educational organization the status of an accredited education organization.

The FAS Russia's proposals will be clarified in accordance with the comments made by members of the Expert Council and forwarded to the Working Group for preparing the draft of the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation".

In accordance with the schedule, the Working Group of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science will present the final draft Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" in June 2010 for public discussions.

The Expert Council will continue discussing the draft Law.