A family with four children from Stefan Voda district called on the authorities to legalize distance private education. In a news conference at IPN, the family complained that they were summoned to the police for abuse and violation of children’s rights to study after the parents chose a U.S. private school with distance learning, being dissatisfied with the quality of studies at the local school, IPN reports.

The children’s father Vitalie Bugaian said the education program in the Moldovan schools is atheistic. This fact as well as the unannounced results of the medical analyses and the unsanitary conditions made him look for alternative education for his children. “I enrolled the children at a private school in Jackson. They began the studies on September 1 and we presented the confirmation that they study to the Moldovan school. The school’s principal announced us by phone that the confirmation is not valid and that this form of studies is not recognized by the Ministry of Education,” he stated.

The family was soon visited by the police and social workers, the parents being accused of violating the children’s rights. “Do we violate our children’s rights to study when we invested money, resources and time in ensuring better education for them? If the education process is optimized, why do they ignore the private education and distance learning?” asked the man.

The family considers that the state should not deprive them of the possibility of looking for alternative education. “We are a traditional country, with Christian values, and we want creationism in schools. We cannot be indifferent when a theory is presented as demonstrated science, while God’s real creation is ignored in most of the school subjects,” said Vitalie Bugaian.

His wife Natasa Bugaian said the private distance learning can be an efficient option for many of the children. “The private school offers a program of studies based on the formation of children’s souls. The message they hear in the church does not run counter to the subjects studied at school,” she added.

The Bugaian family lived abroad for 10 years and settled in Moldova three years ago. The spouses said that if they are not heard, they will have to go again abroad together with the children.