Approximately 160 national educational institutions will be outfitted with ICT equipment and equipment for the physics, chemistry and biology labs in the framework of the Moldova Education Reform Project that is financially supported by the World Bank and is implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, IPN reports.

In a press release, the Ministry says the educational institutions that will benefit from lab equipment were chosen at a contest that involved 270 schools. In the project launch event, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education Natalia Grîu said the schools were selected according to such criteria as access to and quality of education that were agreed with the World Bank. Priority was given to the educational institutions situated in localities with demographic prospects that ensure a child-friendly environment.

Victor Păgînu, senior consultant at the Ministry’s General Education Division, said that today the school equipment is mostly outdated and nonfunctional and does not meet the current standards. Therefore, the educational technologies should be updated.

Project coordinator Sergiu Harea said the selected education institutions will receive lab equipment before the start of the new school year. There will be instructed national trainers who will receive the equipment and, for their part, will train teachers to use it.

The equipment is bought with the additional financing of US$ 10 million provided for the Moldova Education Reform Project that is financed by the World Bank through the International Development Association. The project implementation period is April 2013 – June 2020.