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- A tempting summary: why did the largest EdTech companies come up with a code of ethics
A tempting summary: why did the largest EdTech companies come up with a code of ethics
The Association for Digital Innovations in Education (RACIO) has developed a draft code of ethics for companies operating in the online learning market. In this way, major EdTech players hope to create the foundations for regulation. Experts note the possible benefits of such a document for the sphere, but warn against erecting possible barriers for small companies. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
What is the essence of the code?
The creation of the draft code of ethics was discussed at the MMSO.EXPO – 2025 (Moscow International Education Salon). This is a set of rules and standards of conduct for EdTech market participants, which includes online schools, online courses, and other platforms.
The signing of the code will be voluntary. Later, the authors of the document expect, its provisions can become the basis for regulating the industry and certifying all participants in the online education market.
The text of the draft code (available to Izvestia) was written on behalf of the members of the RATION.
It says that "the members of the Association intend to ensure that the technological tools used by EdTech companies in the educational process will be used for the benefit of students and teachers." Five basic principles have been identified according to which the market should operate: human-centricity, awareness of the potential risks of technology and the priority of cybersecurity, responsibility for the use of technological solutions in the educational process, exchange of best practices and collaboration on evaluating practices to address emerging ethical issues, transparency and truthfulness of informing students about the level of technology development, including based on AI, their opportunities and risks.
Separately, the code prescribes a recommendation on voluntary certification of educational services.
In terms of working with artificial intelligence, it says that EdTech companies are "determined" to take advantage of the opportunities provided by AI, but only taking into account the potential risks.
All current members of the RATION join the code.
Why do we need a code?
In February 2025, the code was presented to the professional community, and the stage of public discussion of its main provisions by all interested parties is now beginning.
Marina Udachina, a member of the board of RAZIO, told Izvestia that RAZIO wants to create "a tool that will be useful and understandable to every participant in the EdTech ecosystem," and will also allow users to make sure that the chosen company "adheres to the high standards of the industry."
"We believe that by working together we can create a White Paper, a set of rules and regulations that will truly improve the quality of educational products, increase public confidence in our industry, and protect the interests of all participants in the educational process," she said.
Valentina Kurenkova, GR Director of Netology, notes that the sector is currently facing two acute problems.
Firstly, it is a matter of quality control of services — consumers can purchase educational courses from organizations with an opaque structure and a dubious reputation, "sometimes even resorting to lending."
Apparently, this is the case with Urban University, a virtual university that recruited about 6 thousand "students" by offering them loans. It was claimed that the payments would be repaid by the university itself from the grant funds, but in the end, the company simply announced the withdrawal of these obligations — people were left without knowledge and with loans to be paid. A criminal case was opened in February. The online university Skill Place operated according to a similar scheme.
— Secondly, it is necessary to clearly distinguish the concepts of Edtech and "infobusiness" both in the information and in the regulatory field, — Valentina Kurenkova told Izvestia. — At the moment, for many citizens and government officials, these concepts are often perceived as synonymous, although there are fundamental differences between them, from educational approaches to licensing issues. These differences require clearer formalization to protect the reputation of bona fide market participants.
Information business in the field of EdTech is called knowledge trading, when a person sells educational materials, but does not achieve their assimilation by the consumer.
Maxim Kazarnovsky, Director of the MMSO, notes that the online education market is now entering a mature stage, as evidenced by a slowdown in its growth: according to Smart Ranking, in 2024, the turnover of the EdTech market increased by 19% to 144 billion rubles (170 largest companies were estimated), while in 2023 the growth was 32%.
—At this stage, the EdTech market needs transparent and ethical rules of the game and competent regulation that will promote the development of high-quality educational programs," the source told Izvestia. — Only half of the users in the adult segment and a third in the children's segment are satisfied with the quality of existing online products. This indicates the urgent need for common ethical principles and quality criteria for the educational services provided.
What kind of association is RATIONO?
The Association for Digital Innovations in Education (RACIO) was established by the largest players in the EdTech market. Among its founders are Ultimate Education, Umskul, Maximum Education, Netology, Skolkovo, Sberbank Education, SkillBox and VKontakte.
The founder of Smart Ranking, Daria Ryzhkova, said that the association has been operating for several years, but has not yet been remembered for any active actions.
—Unification is certainly necessary: when the state wants to regulate the online education industry, it will be useful to have a body that can represent most of the participants in this market and explain something to the regulator," she told Izvestia. — Good initiatives have already been proposed, for example, a separate OKVED for EdTech.
At the same time, participation in the RATION costs 1 million rubles, Daria Ryzhkova notes, which is quite expensive for small organizations.
"This is exactly the point that worries me about the code of ethics: whether small companies will be left out of the market," she said.
The RATION, however, stated that any company can sign the code of ethics, regardless of whether it is a member of the association or not.
How do other market participants relate to the code?
Companies from the online education industry interviewed by Izvestia were mostly in favor of adopting such a code.
Ekaterina Kuzmenko, head of the Hybrid Partners program, notes that such a document could "standardize the quality of courses and training materials." It is not a question of unifying all programs, but it would be possible to "establish basic criteria": for example, the involvement of practicing experts, rather than "theorists with outdated knowledge."
Denis Kucherov, Director of Minerva Result projects, points out in the context of the code the problem of various trainers who are engaged in online training, they are not always interested in high-quality courses. It should be noted that the code defines the difference between EdTech and infobusiness, which Denis Kucherov is talking about.
Stanislav Kosarev, Director of Work with the public Sector at the Algorithmica International School of Mathematics and Programming, emphasizes that while there are no uniform standards in the industry, this leads to different quality of educational programs, not always transparent learning conditions and inflated user expectations.
— The Code could ensure transparency in matters of certification, returns, rights and obligations of the parties. Now the market has great growth potential, but without regulation there is a risk of declining quality and user outflow," he believes.
Evgeny Mukhametshin, head of the educational part of the medical department of the optician's network "Happy Look", also points out the need to consolidate the standards of honest advertising and ensure transparency so that stories of deceived students of educational courses do not repeat themselves. In addition, it will help "increase the platforms' responsibility for content and teaching methods."
Vitaly Bogachev, director of the Mobius Academy training Center, points out that the market is now facing widespread disinformation and low-quality content: in 2024, the share of such unethical practices amounted to approximately 45 billion rubles, or about 20% of the total revenue of the infobusiness. According to him, this creates risks for the reputation of the market as a whole.
Will the code help
At the same time, experts note that the code itself will not be the solution to all problems. Vitaly Bogachev points out that its effectiveness depends on the market's willingness to self-regulate and the availability of mechanisms to monitor its compliance.
Boris Ilyukhin, a senior researcher at the Center for Economics of Continuing Education at the IPEI Presidential Academy, fears that the code, no matter how good it may be, will not help much, since the mechanism for monitoring compliance with its norms is unclear. Ekaterina Zyuzina, head of the distance learning system at the Technonicol Construction Academy, also believes that the code "is unlikely to significantly affect the situation" if it is voluntary: unscrupulous players will simply ignore it.
"To really improve the situation, we need a well—developed legislative framework that clearly defines what an online educational product is and what criteria it should meet," she said.
Stanislav Kosarev believes that it is important to provide an independent body or association that will monitor the implementation of the principles of the code.
Meanwhile, a representative of the market, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested that the very appearance of the code may be related to the desire of the RATION to seriously increase the number of members.
Vitaly Altukhov, co-founder of Profilum, Director of Development and Research, stressed that the code cannot be the only solution. This is just an ethical guideline for companies, but it is important to develop both work standards and uniform quality metrics.
— These metrics should be simple and transparent so that all market participants can adhere to them. We are talking about basic indicators that will help distinguish high-quality products from questionable ones. At the same time, standards should not create barriers for new startups: many companies fear that major players will unite and create rules that are difficult for new participants," Vitaly Altukhov confirmed the concerns of other market participants. — The task of the code and standards is not to give preferences to established players, but to protect consumers from low—quality products.
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