School shaming: Parents and students are bullied for refusing fees in the classroom
In Crimea, a teacher publicly demanded that the child leave the school matinee, as the parents did not give money to the animator. In the Vologda region, the school administration organized harassment of a family that refused to donate money for printed notebooks and school needs. Izvestia was informed about these cases by the People's Front. According to his monitoring, more than 80% of parents purchase additional allowances for schools, which should be purchased from the budget. About what else there are extortions in schools and how to deal with them — in the material of Izvestia.
What money is being raised for
The problem of forced collection of funds from the parents of students for school needs remains unresolved, stated in the Popular Front. In March and April 2025, the movement conducted an annual comprehensive monitoring. It turned out that 81% of parents of students are forced to purchase printed textbooks (workbooks) at their own expense.
At the same time, all textbooks and manuals for schools should be purchased at the budget expense, and if the school decides to use something else, it must approve it by order and purchase it, experts say. The parent committee, when collecting money for the needs of the class, should proceed from the principle of the voluntary nature of such a contribution.
Nevertheless, as it follows from the monitoring, the principle of voluntariness is not always respected. So, the mother of a schoolboy in the Novgorod region was excluded from parent chats, and the child could not attend the graduation in the fifth grade due to the refusal to give 20 thousand rubles for gifts to the teacher and the event.
The parents of a student from the Republic of Crimea said that the teacher publicly demanded that their child leave the school matinee: his parents did not give money to the animator. And from the Vologda region, they reported that the school administration and parents had organized harassment of a family that refused to donate money for printed notebooks and school needs.
"In other words, children face harassment from classmates and even teachers for their parents' refusal to donate money," the Popular Front expert told Izvestia. Analytics" by Ekaterina Sidorova. — One-time payments can sometimes reach large amounts, and parents who refuse to hand over money are often trying to impress their rights in comparison with others.
She noted that the analysis of the responses of parents and citizens' appeals to the president's direct line in 2024 demonstrated the urgency of the problem of forced fundraising in schools: reports about this were received from different regions of Russia. The reasons for fundraising can be quite numerous, and the cumulative payment can be significant for the family.
"According to a report from the Krasnodar Territory, parents are forced to donate over 5,000 rubles annually for workbooks, cleaning fees and other needs,— Ekaterina Sidorova said.
Izvestia has studied social media posts over the past year. "They collect everything from batteries to furniture. In general, I would like to know if this is legal. It was renovated last year. My child is only in the second grade, and I'm already shocked by what's happening," one user shares.
"My daughter started studying in the first grade this year. And then it started. We buy books for studying ourselves, we have already bought them twice. Every month, parents collect gifts for the teacher, for the teacher, for the foundation," said the schoolgirl's mother.
According to the parents, they also collect money from them for school security and cleaning.
"I have two children in school, in the fourth and second grades. In the fourth grade, the parent committee insists that one of us come once a week to do the general cleaning of the classroom," said the mother of two schoolchildren. — In the second grade, we donate money by hiring a cleaner who works once a week. I wrote a complaint to the Department of Education. The principal called me to the school and scolded me in front of the teachers. According to them, I slandered them with my letter and set them up in front of higher authorities."
However, not all parents believe that it is worth changing the situation.
"I worked on the parent committee myself and I know what it is and where it is spent, a couple of such parents have always been wildly annoying! This is primarily for your child's comfortable time, he spends half the day at school," retorts another user.
"Whatever you want, don't give up, no one is forcing you, this is the business of every parent. I have two children, I'm renting, I'm not impoverished, because I know where the money goes, the parent committee always reports for every penny. And in every class there are one or two parents who will strangle themselves for 100 rubles."
"The school does everything for your children, and yes — at your expense, there is no other way," another user stood up for the school.
What benefits do they buy
According to the monitoring of the Popular Front, textbooks are not purchased by schools themselves, this is done through parent committees. Most often, they buy workbooks for elementary and secondary schools in foreign languages, mathematics, algebra, geometry, natural sciences, the world around them, biology, natural sciences, ecology, penmanship, Russian, local history, history, social studies, geography.
"According to comprehensive monitoring data, parents' annual expenses for the purchase of workbooks in 44% of cases amount to 1 thousand rubles, in 34% of cases — from 1 thousand to 2 thousand rubles, and in 22% — more than 2 thousand rubles per year," follows from the analysis of the movement.
Olga Miryasova, the organizational secretary of the Teacher trade union, noted that this is due to the school's attempts to save the funds allocated to it by redistributing them to other needs.
— Textbooks and books are purchased by the school, but there may not be enough for them, especially given the insane speed of updating textbooks, — said the expert. — The history manuals were recently changed, and now they are buying new ones again. But workbooks are usually a controversial issue, how to interpret them: as manuals or not, because they are disposable. You can't take them to the library.
According to her, schools need funds for minor repairs, the purchase of broken furniture and consumables: plates are breaking, light bulbs are burning out.
— Therefore, successful schools strongly ask parents to discount on the school's account as a voluntary donation or through the Board of trustees, — she said. — And weak schools, where parents are poorer, do not have such a fund, and there it all goes in the mode of "the homeroom teacher must convince parents to chip in for toilet paper, soap and the notorious curtains." It's the same with notebooks: parents don't have to buy, but the teacher says: "You want a normal quality of education, right? So, buy it."
Lyudmila Lagunova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Educational Content and Methods, said that the inclusion of textbooks in school orders is a rare practice.
— Most often, parents purchase workbooks, reference books, anthologies, and the like on the advice of a teacher or on their own. And in this case, there are no violations of the law," she said. — Regarding the data received by the Popular Front, it is highly likely that the respondents who gave a positive answer do not understand the nuances described above.
Daniil Chernykh-Aipov, lawyer, member of the Council of the Moscow Regional Branch of the Russian Bar Association, Deputy Chairman of the Sulim and Partners Bar Association, called "extortion" from school parents a problem that has become systemic.
"Despite regular statements by officials about the inadmissibility of such practices, such fees continue to exist in various forms: from workbooks to financing holidays and gifts to staff," he said. — But such demands are illegal.
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to education, and the state guarantees universal access and free pre-school and secondary education in state and municipal institutions. The law "On Education in the Russian Federation" also refers to the same principles.
"Moreover, it explicitly stipulates that students are provided with textbooks and teaching aids for free, as well as educational and methodological materials, teaching and upbringing tools," the lawyer said. — At the same time, workbooks are part of the educational and methodological kit and should be provided to schoolchildren free of charge, which is confirmed by the corresponding letter from the Ministry of Education. Therefore, the requirement to purchase workbooks at your own expense or to raise money for the needs of a class or school has no legal basis.
Textbooks, household supplies, and the organization of holidays should all be provided from state or municipal budgets, the lawyer emphasized.
Parents who are faced with a demand to donate money can request from the school administration a written justification for fundraising and information about the legal basis on which this is happening. If the arguments are not presented or inconclusive, the parent has every right to refuse to deposit money, relying on the norms of the law "On Education" and the Constitution.
Daniil Chernykh-Aipov recommended that parents apply in writing to the director of the school, to the Department of education of the municipality or region, as well as to the territorial administration of Rosobrnadzor. In special situations, the expert recommends reaching the prosecutor's office if the problem at the school level has become systemic.
The lawyer noted that illegal collection of funds can be qualified as an administrative offense under Article 5.57 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation "Violation of the right to education", and in some cases as a criminal offense under the article on abuse of official authority.
The so-called charitable donations can be a legitimate way to voluntarily support the school financially. But such contributions should be strictly voluntary, anonymous, without specifying specific amounts and without reference to a specific child, and their amount should be determined solely by the parents themselves.
In addition, funds must be transferred by wire transfer — through an official checking account with mandatory registration of the relevant agreement. And the school will need to account for these funds.
The expert confirmed that the practice of "legalizing extortion" has recently spread, in the form of the creation of non—profit organizations, the so-called school support funds. In addition, educational institutions can create a governing council that will discuss options for attracting additional financial resources.
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