Contradictory discussions were held at the meeting of the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) on the topic of financing of groups with extended hours. While PAS councilors claim that there is no desire on the part of the mayor to release 18 million lei to finance groups with extended hours, MAN councilors say that the local public authorities financed classes with extended hours in recent years, although they had no obligation to do so, but now they no longer have financial resources to continue this practice, IPN reports.
Lilia Scutar, municipal councilor of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), said that the financing of groups with extended hours remained unsolved and affects 38,700 children and their parents. “According to the state budget law for 2024, the Ministry of Finance allocated 3.859 billion lei, which is by 81 million more than in 2023. It means there is money, but there is no desire to unlock the 18 million to fund the extended program groups. The Chisinau City Hall allocated money only for 6,000 children from socially vulnerable families,” said Lilia Scutar. She demanded that the mayor, together with the MAN group, should present the provisional budget for this year and publish it on the official website so that it becomes visible and is debated at the CMC meeting.
The chairman of today’s meeting Corneliu Pantea, deputy head of the group of the National Alternative Movement (MAN) in the CMC, referred to the Regulations on the organization and functioning of classes and groups with extended hours (of 2016), according to which “the local public authorities aren’t obliged to do so, only if they have additional sources.” In the last three years, the municipality of Chisinau financed these classes with extended hours with funds from the municipal budget. For example, 72 million lei in financing was provided last year. The financing of groups with extended hours was possible as long as the Chisinau municipality had additional sources and transfers from the state budget.
For 6,000 children from socially vulnerable families, the local public authorities of Chisinau will continue to costs associated with the running of groups with extended hours, including the expenses for food. This was reiterated today by l mayor generaIon Ceban in statements for the press.
At the end of January, the City Hall announced that it was working on a formula so that parents could officially pay for the groups with extended hours. A regulation was designed for all the general education institutions in the municipality, which stipulates that for a monthly program of three hours, the parents will pay 360 lei, while for six hours - 690 lei.
