Thousands of Moscow parents, long accustomed to the notion of free education for all, are now having to dig deep into their own pockets to get all there is to offer from the capital's state schools.


As hundreds of city schools try to develop a modern curriculum on a limited budget, they are turning to parents to pick up the slack left by the government's limited coffers.


At state school No. 1102 in southwestern Moscow, the student body is divided into two groups: A and B. Group A and Group B both arrive at 8:30. They both devote their mornings to studying all the basics: Russian, math, natural sciences, English. But by lunchtime Group A pupils slam shut their textbooks for the day, while the students in Group B -- approximately half the class -- face a full lineup of information technology, English conversation, physics, world culture, even ballroom dancing.


The parents of school No. 1102 are lucky. They are still paying the paltry sum of 30,000 rubles (about $10) per month for the supplementary program. It may be a pittance, but it is enough to give Lida Studenkova, the school's director, the flexibility the city budget does not allow. "This money means I can pay quality teachers a little more," says Studenkova, adding that her teachers' salaries were "laughable," ranging from 80,000 to 180,000 rubles per month.


While some school directors hire outside professors to teach supplementary programs, Studenkova relies heavily on her own staff. Keeping quality English teachers on staff, however, is a particular problem. To give them the incentive they need to stay in the classroom, she dips into the extra funds.


Supplementary education is not new. For years parents have paid extra so their children could receive the after-school instruction they needed to help them through a difficult subject, or to pass college entrance exams. But until recently the fee for these classes was within the means of any family. As the new system evolves, it is creating two distinct structures within state schools: one for students who pay, and one for those who do not.


While supplementary classes are by no means obligatory, they are becoming more popular for parents who worry that their children might otherwise be denied a proper education. "It doesn't mean that your kid will not get into university," says Jan Golf of the Institute of Public Education. "But for a good education these days you need money."


While the standard curriculum is still the same for all students, the supplementary program varies from school to school, covering anything from computer science to marketing to etiquette. Just as programs vary, so do fees.


The parents of school No. 465, for example, have to dig a little deeper into their pockets. They pay the equivalent of $40 per month so their children can study computer science and German after school. And, according to Golf, fees may climb as high as $100. Even for the courses they share in common, Group A and Group B remain separated in different classrooms.


While educators recognize that some students may be shut out of studying on the fast track because of their wallet and not their intellect, they consider this to be a natural development. "Before we all used to be the same," says Studenkova. "Now I've got some kids in Cadillacs and others in torn boots."


Since state schools first started offering these classes three years ago, they have been gaining in popularity. But Svetlana Korovina, of Moscow's Department of Education, has no idea just how many of the city's 1,336 schools have supplementary programs. "That is their affair," says Korovina.


Studenkova claims the practice is widespread. "The demand is ripe," she says, adding that the parents association now plays an active role in developing new curriculums. "If we don't fulfill the parents' demands," she says, "they will take their children to another school."