First-graders in Samara were unable to enroll to a school according to their registration address because of a lack of vacant places and new government benefits for siblings
Nadezhda Knyaginina has commented on a situation that happened due to an end of the “first wave” of admissions to the first grade.
The full text can be read on a website of the internet journal about Samara and Samara region “Drugoi Gorod” (“A Different City”).
In 2021, the admission campaign to the first grade was conducted by the new federal rules. Submission of the documents had started on April 1st and ended on June 30th. In total, as of 2021-2022, there are 14000 positions open for first-graders in schools of Samara. However, due to a sharp skewing of demand for schools between the districts of Samara, not all of the first-graders were able to enroll to a school determined by their home address. Part of Samara and Kuybyshev district’s schools are half-empty, while those of Promyshlenny and Oktyabrski districts refuse to admit new students.
Nadezhda Knyaginina “Schools are in a tight situation: they are bound to fulfill the requirements of Sanitary Rules, Norms and Normatives on space per student, and usually it becomes the cause for a refusal. But the stance of city’s department of education is a different deal. Their authority includes the account of potential scholars. The city should assign housing to schools in such a way that there is enough place for everyone in them. And it is department’s duty to provide a child with a place in a school, and not their parent’s duty to run around the city scouting for a vacant place.
Legal practice in regards to providing a place in schools is lacking: it’s hard to prove that municipality had been inactive and made no attempts to provide a child with a place in school. Nevertheless, parents can complain to a prosecutor's office to defend their rights, but, sadly, the issue of admission to the first grade will not resolve fast”.