OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2008. The Expert Council on developing competition in education, at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), met, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The Council discussed the amendments to the legislation on education, aimed at developing competition and achieving equal conditions for the functioning of educational institutions of all forms of incorporation and ownership.

The amendments relate to the following areas:

- achieving equality of the rights of all state-accredited educational institutions (organizations) for state assistance, participation in the governmental (national) programmes and projects, executing the state orders for education services for state and municipal needs;

- institualizing additional professional education in the legislation on education;

- offering property support to educational institutions (organizations) on providing state aid in accordance with the procedures specified in the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" and introducing restrictions on removing the state and municipal property used for educational purposes from the sphere of education;

- extending the list of goals for offering state and municipal aid in the part of supporting education, physical culture and sport, and the children and youth programmes.

The Expert Council noted the content of the speeches and reports given by the Council members and invited interested persons, including V. Spasskaya, the Deputy Director of the State Policy Department in Education, of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

Summing up the session, the Expert Council approved in general the amendments to the legislation on education and the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" and reached a decision to forward the amendments to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science for further joint revision and introduction to the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Expert Council also proposed that in addition FAS Russia should discuss the issue on amending Article 17.1 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition: extending the list of exceptions in leasing state and municipal property for educational purposes.