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City Recommends Schools Outsource Non-Essential Functions

City Hall's education department has recommended that administrators of day-care centers, schools and colleges in Moscow outsource non-essential operations such as custodial services, roof-cleaning and accounting to professional contractors, according to a statement published on the department's website Monday.

"The purpose of transferring non-essential functions to outside professional organizations is not to 'buy' a janitor, a custodian, or an industrial high-altitude worker but to buy a professional service, which results in a clean and safe yard, roof or room," the department's press service said, Interfax reported.

The department recommends heads of educational establishments to clearly specify contractors' rights and obligations and include provisions for penalties in service contracts.

Education officials are encouraged to demand health certificates and work permits from foreign workers as a condition for employment, the document says.

It also stresses the importance of contractors' compliance with the requirements set by the city's technical and housing regulators as well as the Federal Consumer Protection Service's standards.

According to a department official the new regulation will make service providers responsible for non-fulfillment or poor performance of the functions for which they are contracted.

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