The National Center for Prevention of Child Abuse expresses its concern about the declared intention of the state authorities to reopen preschool education institutions and about the position of a large number of parents who demand to reopen kindergartens following the resumption of socioeconomic activity and the necessity to return to work, IPN reports.

In a public statement, the Center says that as the epidemiological situation in Moldova remains grave, with statistics confirming daily hundreds of cases of infection, it considers the reopening of kindergarten is dangerous due to the risk of infection and spread of the virus. The kids cannot ensure the observance of the protection measures and the maintaining of social distancing and can contract the virus at the kindergarten or in public transport.

“We realize the concern of parents who do not have who to leave the children with while they go to work and express our concern about the situation of children, who, in the absence of alternative solutions, are left alone by parents, they being thus exposed to multiple dangers to their life and health”.

The National Center for Prevention of Child Abuse considers the state institutions should consolidate their position and offer alternatives to families with children of preschool age so that these manage to reconcile family life and professional activity and ensure the harmonious growth and development of the child during the pandemic.

“We request the national and local responsible authorities to urgently approve amendments to the legation so as to extend the category of beneficiaries of the family support service by including the families that face difficulties in ensuring the supervision of children of preschool age while the parents are at work, to set down clear and objective criteria for accepting applications to be included in the family support program and to simplify the procedure for accessing this during the pandemic; to work out a plan for the gradual reopening of preschool education institutions that will start to be implemented when the pandemic recedes.”

The Center calls on the employers to identify solutions of distance work for employees with children of a preschool age or to agree a reduced or flexible work program for them. The parents are recommended to find a trustworthy adult in whose care they could leave the child while at work and to seek help from the local authorities or the employer if they do not have who to leave the child with in the period.