The energy consumption in primary and secondary education institutions in Moldova over the next three-four years will be rationalized, Iurie Socol, division head at the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, said in a public discussion on the topic, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a study made by the Ministry, the teachers of 23% of the schools complain that the educative process is not very productive because it is cold in the classrooms. The low temperatures affect the students’ and teachers’ health. The draft public policy document presented by the Ministry includes three possibilities of solving this problem – optimization of the heating systems, thermal rehabilitation of the constructive part, and rehabilitation of the heating system simultaneously with the rehabilitation of the constructive part of the buildings. The project will last for a period of 3-5 years. Its estimative cost is 1.7 billion lei. During the first three years, there will be spent 1.4 billion lei on modernizing the heating system, repairing the roofs and walls of the buildings and replacing their windows and doors. Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction Anatolie Zolotcov said that a number of foreign donors expressed readiness to finance energy efficiency projects. The European Commission will allocate €42 million for supporting such projects. There are also other donors that are implementing energy efficiency projects such as the World Bank, through the Social Investment Fund of Moldova, USAID, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Currently, 40% of the amount of energy used in Moldova goes to heat buildings. By 2020, the Government aims to reduce total energy consumption by 20% and energy consumption in buildings by 10%.