Starting from May 1, 2026, the parental fee in Nizhny Novgorod kindergartens and the cost of meals in schools will be indexed.

      In Nizhny Novgorod, a number of benefits are available for parents and their children. Starting from May 1, 2026, the parental fee in kindergartens in "big Nizhny" and the cost of meals in schools in Nizhny Novgorod (except for the Kstovo district) will be indexed by 5%, which corresponds to the consumer price index for goods and services. Thus, it will change on average by an amount ranging from 2 to 10 rubles per day depending on the child's age, the time spent in kindergarten, or the chosen meal plan in school. This was reported by the city's Department of Economic Development and Investments. "The indexing is primarily related to inflationary processes, including the cost of food and fuel. In addition, a number of benefits for parents and their children are in effect in Nizhny Novgorod. For example, primary school students are provided with hot meals, offered free of charge once a day," the department noted, explaining that starting from May 1, the cost of meals in schools in Nizhny Novgorod, excluding the Kstovo district, will change: breakfasts will increase by +4.84 rubles, lunches by +5.8 rubles, and afternoon snacks by +2.24 rubles per day. According to the Department of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration, the following categories of schoolchildren are eligible for benefits in "big Nizhny": - children with disabilities, children from families where parents have been incapacitated for more than one month due to health reasons; - children from families whose housing has been affected by fire or destruction; - children who have lost a single parent or both parents; - children whose parents (legal representatives) are disabled of group I or II; - children whose parents (legal representatives) have been exposed to radiation due to the Chernobyl disaster; - children whose parents (legal representatives) died while performing their official duties; - children from low-income families receiving monthly cash payments for food from the regional budget; - children from large families receiving monthly allowances related to the birth and upbringing of a child, or who, as of June 30, 2025, were assigned a child allowance from the regional budget, or whose average per capita income exceeds the minimum living wage established by the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region by no more than 3000 rubles; - children from families in socially dangerous situations; - children whose parents (legal representatives) lived in the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, who left the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic and arrived in the territory of the Russian Federation; - children whose parents (legal representatives) had a residence in the territories of the Belgorod region, Bryansk region, and Kursk region, who were forced to leave these subjects of the Russian Federation; - children whose one parent (legal representative) has been called up for military service by mobilization in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; has signed a contract for voluntary assistance in carrying out tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the special military operation (SMO); is a serviceman serving under contract, participating in tasks related to the SMO; is an employee (serviceman) of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, sent to the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and participating in tasks related to the SMO; is an employee of the investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod region, performing official duties during the SMO in the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson region, as well as stepchildren and/or stepdaughters of citizens of the Russian Federation who are participants in the SMO; - children whose one parent (legal representative) is in the mobilization human reserve "Bars-NN." Also, starting from May 1, the parental fee in kindergartens will increase by +9.1 rubles per day for groups with children under 3 years old and by +10.06 rubles per day for groups with children aged 3 to 7 years, while in the city of Kstovo, it will increase by +7.95 rubles per day for all ages in preschool institutions with twelve-hour stays. As reported by the Department of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration, according to the legislation, fees from parents of children with disabilities, orphans, children left without parental care, and children with tuberculosis intoxication are not charged in municipal preschool educational organizations. Other cases of exemption from parental fees in municipal preschool educational organizations have also been defined, namely: - if one of the parents (legal representatives) has been called up for military service by mobilization in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; - if one of the parents (legal representatives) has signed a contract for voluntary assistance in carrying out tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the SMO; - if one of the parents (legal representatives) is a serviceman serving under contract, participating in the SMO; - if one of the parents (legal representatives) is an employee (serviceman) of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, participating in the SMO; - if in the family, the children are stepchildren and/or stepdaughters of participants in the SMO; - if the parents (legal representatives) and their children had a residence in the territories of the Belgorod region, Bryansk region, and Kursk region, and were forced to leave these subjects; - if the parents (legal representatives) and their children lived in the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, left the territories of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic and arrived in the territory of the Russian Federation; - if one of the parents (legal representatives) is an employee of the investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod region, performing official duties during the SMO in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions – for the duration of the SMO; - if one of the parents (legal representatives) is in the mobilization human reserve "Bars-NN." Certain categories of parents are compensated for part of the parental fee for the care and supervision of children in kindergartens. From the regional budget, parents (legal representatives) of children receive compensation for the parental fee for kindergarten for the first child in the amount of 20% of the average parental fee, for the second child in the amount of 50%, for the third child and subsequent children – in the amount of 70% of the average parental fee. From the city budget, compensation for part of the parental fee for care and supervision is provided to the following categories of families: - low-income families, where parents (legal representatives) are registered with social protection authorities and have an average per capita income below 50% of the minimum living wage per capita established by the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region, – in the amount of 40% of the parental fee for the first child; - families where parents (legal representatives) are disabled of group I or II (one or both), – in the amount of 40% of the parental fee for the first child; - families where one of the parents (legal representatives) is an employee of a municipal educational organization implementing a preschool education program, – in the amount of 80% of the parental fee for the first child; - families with two or more children, provided that at least two children simultaneously attend kindergarten – in the amount of 50% for the second child in the family; - families with three or more children, – in the amount of 30% of the parental fee for the third child and subsequent children.