A number of 148 children were out of school on December 31, 2016, as opposed to 180 at the start of the school year. The school attendance rate among first-ninth graders was 99.9%.

Contacted by IPN, head of the Preuniversity Education Division of the Ministry of Education Valentin Crudu said most of the children who abandoned school are aged between 10 and 14. The key reasons are mainly familial in character. In most of the cases, the parents work abroad and the children are left in the care of relatives who often shift the responsibility onto someone else.

Valentin Crudu noted that the authorities fight this phenomenon and take measures to bring the children back to school. The about 40 students who were reintegrated into the education system during the first term are a proof of this.

In the 2016-2017 school year, the fist-nine grades of education institutions include 293 597 students.