The number of Baccalaureate candidates has declined considerably during the past two years. In 2014 the number of candidates admitted to the Baccalaureate exams was higher than 27,000, but in 2016 this figure stood at over 21,000. For the 2016-2017 school year, admission to the tenth grade was organized in only 294 lyceums of the existing 375. In 161 lyceums, the number of students was insufficient for forming two classes of the tenth grade, as the regulations on education provide. The other institutions formed only one tenth class, as an exception, shows a report by the Ministry of Education and the National Agency for Curriculum and Assessment, IPN reports.

According to the Agency’s director Anatol Topala, such a state of affairs is due to the demographic situation in the Republic of Moldova. The number of lyceums continues to decrease, while the students continue to choose lyceums located in urban areas rather than rural lyceums. About 45% of the lyceums had less than 25 Baccalaureate candidates.

Minister of Education Corina Fusu said the situation concerning Baccalaureate exam passing is positive. The general pass rate in the 2016 session was 62.42%, while the final lyceum exam pass rate was 86.33%, which is by 5% higher than in 2015 and by 15% higher than in 2014. “Two years ago, seven in ten lyceum graduates got pass grades in Baccalaurean exams, while during the current session this ratio was almost 9 to 10. This constant rise is satisfactory and sows a responsible and correct attitude on the part of lyceum students and teachers,” she stated.

The report shows that even if the number of lyceums decreased, the quality of training improved. During the current session, each fifth lyceum had an exam pass rate of 100%.

Another aspect highlighted by the analysis of comparative data shows that the number of candidates studying exact sciences in lyceums decreased about two times on 2014, even if the given candidates who passed the Baccalaureate exams got general grades higher than their mates studying humanities.