A School Inspectorate will be created in Moldova by January 1, 2014. Its task will be to improve the quality of education by ensuring full transparency in the education process in schools. The foundation of the inspectorate is stipulated in the draft Education 2020 strategy that was proposed for public debates, IPN reports.

The goal of the new strategy is to reorganize the education system so that it becomes the main economic factor of the country, Minister of Education Maia Sandu said in a conference held to present the document.

The draft strategy continues the Ministry of Finance’s policy to optimize the costs for maintaining the infrastructure of the education institutions. Thus, more schools with a limited number of students will be merged.

The school curriculum will be adjusted to the National Qualification Framework. As a result, there will appear new education plans, textbooks, support books for courses, methodological guides and assessment tests. Simultaneously, the teachers will be continuously trained by specialty areas so that the entire teaching staff is trained according to the National Qualification Framework by 2020.

“The promotion of optional courses and implementation of information technology at lectures in higher education establishments will increase the institutions’ attractiveness,” said the minister.

Under the strategy, the technical vocational education will be reorganized. It will have two levels: secondary education and post-secondary education. The first level will be used in schools and lyceums, while the second in colleges. Admission to colleges will be organized only for lyceum graduates, not yet for those who finished nine grades, as until now.

By the end of 2017, the vocational education will be adjusted to the labor market requirements so that the employment rate after graduation rises by 50% among graduates of secondary vocational education schools, stated Maia Sandu.

The children with disabilities and from vulnerable families will continue to benefit from awards, lower dorm accommodation and alimentation charges and assistance in finding employment. The classrooms, workshops and dorms will be outfitted with modern equipment and furniture.

The strategy Education 2020 will be submitted to the Government for approval at the end of this year. The costs for implementing it will be covered from the state budget, with contributions from the private sector, sponsorships and other legal sources.

As many as 141,000 children attend Moldova’s 1,418 kindergartners, while 372,000 students study at lyceums.  The 66 secondary vocational education institutions have 19,590 students, while the 47 colleges have 30,700 students. There are 102,000 students at the 34 universities of the country.