Problem. The provision of preschool education to citizens is one of the most important directions of social policy of Russia. The main problem which needs to be addressed is the shortage of places in preschool organizations, especially for children under three, and overcrowded preschool groups.
The aim of the study is to determine the place of the South Federal District regions in the national rating of regions according to the degree of development in preschool education. The key indicators included in the rating are the scope and security of the children in preschool education, the fullness of groups, and the quality of facilities and teaching staff. The author uses the official data from 2016and compares the results with previous research of other authors in 2012. In addition to the official data the author uses the national Russian survey “Comprehensive survey of living conditions of the population” conducted in 2014, which reveals the satisfaction of citizens with children in different regions of the South Federal District with preschool education.
The results of the study indicate a low quality of preschool education in the regions of the South Federal District. The worst indicators in particular are the low enrollment of children into preschool organizations and at the same time overcrowded groups in the existing institutions. Despite the obvious positive results of the modernization program for preschool education in the district, the regions still lag behind the average for the country’s. The stumbling block on the way to an improvement of the system is the settlement system in the district which is characterized by a low urbanization rate, lack of middle size cities and the prevalence of one large main city per region, where the majority of kindergartens are concentrated. The author also analyses the trends in this market and opportunities for private education in the examined regions.
Conclusion. One of the ways of solving the problem of preschool education is the support of nongovernmental educational organizations and the development of a public-private partnership. This could not only increase the availability of preschool education, but could also create new jobs for young mothers. Experiences in other countries demonstrate that this strategy works most efficiently in rural remote areas, which is particularly relevant for regions of South Federal District.