On the last work day of 2017, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECC) released a draft concept of the National Curricula for all stages of secondary education – primary, gymnasium, and lycee (high school).

This is translation from Romanian. The original story is HERE.

The Democratic Party (PDM) immediately announced that the Government returned to the track of re-opening the schools that had closed under the previous governments. At least two schools would be reinstated soon after the early January vacation, the PDM promised. 

„In the next semester, immediately after the [Russian Orthodox] Christmas, two primary class schools will reopen: in Fârlădeni, a village in Hâncești District (primary school + kindergarten, with one first class consisting of eight pupils and one fourth class consisting of 16 students), and in Țepilova, of Soroca District (primary school, for 21 students). We are also considering opening in early September 2018 a primary school in Bolohan village, Orhei (for 17 students). This is just the beginning,” stated Monica Babuc.

Almost 700 schools closed under the Filip Government

This is the second reform in the education system which the government led by Prime Minister Pavel Filip pursues in less than a year. The focus which the ruling PDM highlights now – that the schools had been shut down by the previous governments – raises a number of questions. First one is which “previous governments”? Before the Filip times until January 2016, or before 2013, or 2015, or 2009?

Prime TV television, which is controlled by PDM chairman Vladimir Plahotniuc said in a video report that the school optimization reform kicked off in 2010 and lasted for seven years. “Most of the schools closed in 2015 – more than 170 institutions,” the oligarch’s channel claimed without giving any references or sources for this figure. Prime TV’s report is contradicted by official statistics though. 

Mold-Street analyzed the official information regarding the number of education institutions over the past 15 years including the two-year period of the Filip Government. 

A report from the Finance Ministry on the size of spending for education, for example, shows that 700 schools closed in 2017 through the end of 2017, the time when the state authorities approved the national budget: that number dropped from 3,914 institutions in early 2015 to 3,911 in early 2016, and then abruptly down to 3,214 at the end of 2017.

The number of schools reduced by 18% under the Filip Government alone. Schools funded by the local public authorities were hit worst. The local public authorities in turn depend 85-90% upon the central government from the financial point of view. Respectively, they may not be blamed for closing those schools because of a decision taken overnight. 

80 schools closed in 2016-2017 

The Filip Government doesn’t deserve any credits for the management of the primary and secondary general education. 

A press release from the National Statistical Bureau from December 26, 2017 says that the primary and secondary education system of Moldova at the beginning of the 2017/18 academic year comprised 1,243 institutions including 102 primary schools, 775 gymnasiums, 352 lycees (high schools), and 14 schools for mentally and physically retarded students. Compared with the precedent academic year, the number of institutions reduced by 48 units – 46 in rural areas and 2 in cities. 

According to the official statistics, in the 2017/18 academic year the network of primary and secondary education has been affected by major changes – closures: 24 primary schools, 23 gymnasiums, one lycee, and one school for retarded students; four gymnasiums were downgraded to primary schools, 14 lycees were downgraded to gymnasiums, and a new lycee opened in the capital, Chisinau. The number of education institutions thus diminished by 80 compared with the 2015/16 academic year and by 105 compared with the 2014/15 academic year.

Number of schools depends on number of students

Official reports and independent sources show that the number of schools depends on the number of students rather than who comes to rule in Moldova. This is demonstrated by the figures from the past 10 to 15 years. 

In 2002-2003 there were some 603,000 students in 1,580 primary and secondary education system and five years later (2007-2008) there were 461,000 students (-142,000). While the number of students dropped by more than 23%, the number of schools reduced by 3% only.

During the last year of Communist Party’s rule, the number of students dropped a further 5.8% down to 434,300, but the number of schools dropped only 1%.

Ten years later, in the 20017/18 academic year the number of students dropped down to 335,600 (-23% or 100,000 students compared with 2008) and the number of schools reduced from 1,526 down to 1,243 (-18.5%). On average per year Moldova lost 10,000 students and 30 schools. 

Interestingly, in the 2017/18 academic year the system employed 28,600 professionals in the primary and secondary classes, that is 10,000 less than ten years ago. 

High spending, low performance

In civilized countries though few would pay attention to the number of schools; usually it’s the quality of studies and performance of the system that count most. In 2016, for example, World Bank economists emphasized that Moldova was spending more for this sector in comparison with other countries in the region or countries with similar revenues. They also found that the high spending for education or healthcare would not render better quality of services. 

The average spending for education in Moldova was 7.2% of GDP during the period 2000-2014 – the highest in Europe and Central Asia. But that did not translate into the full occupancy of teaching jobs or academic performance of students.

In 2018 the national spending for education activities will amount to 10.42 billion lei, or 6.5% of GDP and 16.9% of the total national budget, the Finance Ministry said. Compared with the 2017 budget, the one for 2018 will be 7.6% (740 million lei) larger.

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Acest articol a fost publicat cu susținerea fundației Național Endowment for Democracy în cadrul proiectului ”Promovarea responsabilității guvernării” și poate fi preluat pentru distribuire, publicare și citare fără careva limitări. Referința la sursă este obligatorie.   

This article has been published thanks to the support of the National Endowment for Democracy as part of the Promoting Government Accountability Project and may be shared, republished or quoted without limitations. Reference to the source is mandatory.