Parents of Dagestani schoolchildren complained about the shortage of textbooks and the collection of money.

Parents of schoolchildren from Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, and the Novolak district reported that children were not provided with a complete set of free textbooks, and families had to buy additional books. They also complained about the collection of money in schools. The Ministry of Education and Science of Dagestan acknowledged the shortage of textbooks.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 30, residents of Dagestan, commenting on the report of the acting head of the republic Fedor Shchukin on the readiness of schools, complained about the lack of textbooks in some schools and the collection of money from parents.

Students at the school in the Novostroy settlement of the Novolak district were not provided with a complete set of textbooks, said local resident Abdurakhman. "Considering that many families have several schoolchildren, buying them is very costly," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

At school No. 30 in Makhachkala, there was also a shortage of textbooks, reported local resident Aminat to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". According to her, they had to buy six additional books for two children. All necessary textbooks were available at the school market and cost from one to one and a half thousand rubles.

Not all students were provided with textbooks at school No. 9 in Kaspiysk. Parents were informed that they would have to buy the missing books themselves, complained local resident Patimat. "We were told that the books did not arrive, and we would have to buy them. This hits the family budget hard, as I do not work, and my husband earns little," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

At school No. 5 in Makhachkala, there was also a shortage of textbooks, reported Isa to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". According to him, in addition, parents were "obliged to contribute money to the school fund in a 'voluntary-compulsory' manner".

Preparing two children for the new school year cost more than 50 thousand rubles, noted Makhachkala resident Albina. One of her children started first grade.

"At least they gave us the books for free. But I bought workbooks for first grade for 2500 rubles, spent 8 thousand on backpacks for both, and almost 10 thousand on shoes. Plus school uniforms and other expenses. Additionally, I had to contribute 1 thousand for the needs of some parent fund for the first grader and 2500 rubles for the third grader. These are very large expenses for a family," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The Ministry of Education and Science of Dagestan acknowledged the existence of a textbook shortage. Parents of schoolchildren in state and municipal educational organizations are not legally required to buy textbooks themselves, the agency stated in a message published on September 8 on its Telegram channel.

"The situation with providing schools with textbooks remains difficult in the republic. The total need for updating school library collections is more than 6.4 million copies of textbooks worth over 5.1 billion rubles. <...> Given the capabilities of the republican budget, new textbooks are prioritized for newly opened schools," the ministry explained.

It should be noted that the problem of the shortage of free textbooks in Dagestan has been raised in previous years as well. In September 2025, parents of schoolchildren in Makhachkala and Kaspiysk reported that they had to buy the missing books themselves. Lawyer Ali Aliyev then explained to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that schools are obliged to provide students with textbooks free of charge for the duration of their studies, and parents cannot be forced to buy them.

In September 2023, parents also reported that schoolchildren had to buy some textbooks themselves. Activists of the movement "Our City" created a bot for automatically sending complaints to the prosecutor's office. Lawyer Arsen Magomedov told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" at that time that this system allowed parents to draft and send a complaint in just a few minutes.

In September 2022, the author of the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul" Rasul (Asad) Maazov told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that reports of a shortage of textbooks came from various cities and districts of Dagestan. Lawyer Musabek Ilyasov noted that the state is obliged to provide schoolchildren with textbooks, and parents should not have to buy books.