OREANDA-NEWS. May 05, 2008. Members of the Expert Council on Promoting Competition in Education and Science, at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), discussed the issues of discrimination and restriction (elimination) of competition between educational institutions of various forms of business ownership, including continuous professional education, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor), the heads and representatives of public and private higher educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations and associations discussed performance and expected future developments of educational institutions of various forms of business ownership, including continuous professional education, in terms of compliance with the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition".

The Expert Council acknowledged reports of its members: the Rector of the State Academy of Innovations Sergey Kondratyev and the President of the "Educational Forum" autonomous non-for-profit organization Tatiana Danilina, as well as presentations given by the Head of the FAS Russia's Department for Control in the Social Sphere and Commerce Timofey Nizhegorodtsev and the Head of the FAS Russia's Department for Control and Administrative Reform Lyudmila Solontsova.

In his speech, Alexander Kinyov, the Head of the FAS Russia's Department for Civil Service and State Aid Control, analyzed the state aid offered by various constituent subjects of the Russian Federation to educational institutions in form of tax privileges (on the land tax or property tax) in terms of the antimonopoly legislation.

Summing up the discussion, the Expert Council concluded to form a Working Group whose task would be developing draft recommendations for the Expert Council aimed at achieving equal conditions for educational institutions of all forms of business ownership in terms of compliance with the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition". By 1st November 2008, the Working Group must devise the recommendations for promoting competition in education, particularly, a proposal on amending the current statutes and regulations in education with due account for the antimonopoly legislation. Recommendations will be submitted for approval by the FAS Russia senior officers, and then forwarded to the concerned governmental authorities.