The state budget for next year should include a new line for financing the needs of the education system in times of the pandemic. The students and teachers, primarily those from disadvantaged families, should be outfitted with computation equipment and provided with Internet connection. The authorities should increase the financial resources allocated for extending the infrastructure of crèches and kindergartens. Given the pandemic, it is important to increase the funds allocated for ensuring the access of kindergarten and school children to safe drinking water and optimal hygiene conditions. The requests were incorporated in a public appeal launched by representatives of the platform of civil society organizations active in the promotion of the rights of vulnerable groups.
In a news conference at IPN, executive director of the Alliance of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities Galina Klimov said the children with disabilities and their families didn’t benefit from educational services during the pandemic as they do not possess the necessary devices and equipment and do not have money to pay for Internet services so as to have access to educational services. “We request to allocate financial resources for ensuring the access of children with disabilities to online educational services,” stated Galina Klimov.
Roman Banari, secretary general of the National Youth Council, said the education and its quality were very affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides providing the students and teachers with computation equipment, the state should subsidize Internet packages and other utilities. Such measures can facilitate access to remote leaning. A lot of children do not have access to high-quality education at present. There are families with many children that have only one computer. “According to the Ministry of Education, in 2020 there were 28,957 students and 2,958 teachers who didn’t have a computer. This is a rather large figure. If we add those who have one computer per two-three children, the figure will be considerable,” stated Roman Banari.
Another request of the organizations is that the allocations for the youth component next year should be maintained at the level of the previous year – 20 million lei. In the document adopted in the first reading, the figure stands at 16 million lei. For comparison, 68 million lei is allocated for the Chisinau Arena. “The Chisinau Agenda during the pandemic will probably not be used and the question is, why should money be invested in this facility and how many young people from the whole Moldova will have access to this facility during the pandemic and outside it?” said Roman Banari.
The public appeal is addressed to Parliament and the parliamentary commissions. It contains recommendations for ensuring financing for persons with disabilities, older persons and the Roma.
