State Development Programs as a Tool for Financing Education

The article is devoted to the issues of education financing with a focus on the application of state development programs aimed at supporting education in Russia. The author analyzes the results of the implementation of federal target programs, state programs and, as part of them, national projects and federal projects in the field of science and education. The study pays special attention to the analysis of public expenditures on higher education, which is largely financed from the federal budget. Higher education is the most important factor in the economic and social development of the country, as it largely forms the human capital, which opens up opportunities for the search for non-standard solutions, creation of new knowledge and development of technologies. One of the objectives of sustainable development in the field of education is to ensure equal access to quality vocational and higher education, including university education. The aim of the paper is to study the problems of using program instruments of education financing in Russia. The author considers federal target programs as a form of “pinpoint” financial support of the education system; shows the mechanism of transition to the program method of education financing and the transformation of program documents that determine the volume and directions of education financing; examines national projects in the context of program financing of education; analyzes the items of federal budget expenditures on higher education and draws conclusions about their content and dynamics. The article is based on official statistical data and analytical reports of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Federal Treasury, and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.