The shortage of teachers in the education system of the Republic of Moldova is of 7,000. The alarming figure was announced by Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun. According to the official, annually, out of 1,000 graduates of teacher-training institutions, only one third choose to work in educational institutions. The minister noted that in order to reduce the shortage of teachers, the Government aims to create a network of model schools to provide modern conditions for teachers and students, IPN reports.
According to the Minister of Education and Research, the shortage of teachers reaches alarming proportions in Moldova. The lack of teachers is also due to the large number of schools that have few students. In Moldova, there are 100 schools with fewer than 50 students and 300 schools with fewer than 100 students.
“The shortage of teachers is also the consequence of our school network. When there is an ambition to provide teachers of chemistry, biology, mathematics, physics for a school with six students, this leads to a shortage. We would have had a shortage of 7,000 teachers in the system, if everyone had worked on a teaching norm only and hadn’t had an overload. We have 1,000 graduates of teacher-training institutions and only 250 of these go to work in school every year. This happens for many reasons and the salary is one element. If nobody gets sick and nobody retires, we need 30 years, at the current pace, to cover this shortage, Dan Perciun stated in the talk show “Good Evening” on the public television station.
According to the minister, in order to increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession, the Government aims to provide training courses for teachers, reduce school bureaucracy and increase salaries. The possibility of increasing teachers’ pays in 2025 is being considered, but for now it’s not known by how much.
“Last year, we raised the salary of teachers by 15%. The reference value was increased from 2,000 to 2,300 lei. There was a one-time payment of 5,000 lei. The specific bonuses were increased. The gross salary of a young specialist today is 10,000 lei, while of an experienced teacher can reach 15,000 lei for a teaching norm. The issue of pays is an important one. We are in talks with the Trade Unions and will see what we manage to do in 2025. I want to assure everyone that at the Ministry we are aware that we have to make these investments and we are trying to convince the Ministry of Finance and other partners of this,” said the official.
The Ministry of Education and Research aims to modernize the network of schools in the Republic of Moldova. In this regard, 35 educational institutions in district centers were selected and massive investments will be made in them so that they become poles of attraction for students from nearby localities. According to the minister, more than €2 million is to be invested in each school out of the 35 model institutions.
