The General Division of Education, Youth and Sports has 286 general education institutions under its management. Deputy mayor of Chisinau Angela Kutasevich said that most of the buildings were erected many years ago and are in need of repair. Depending on the degree of wear and tear and urgent needs, the priorities are set and the volume of allowances for works is decided. In the case of schools, works are performed rather to strengthen the existing network, while in the case of kindergartens, emphasis is placed on the opening of new institutions.


Repair and assessment

Last year, a series of works were carried out, such as the extensive repair of roofs, extensive repair of sanitary facilities, repair of cooking facilities, repair of basements and sewerage networks, replacement of the aqueduct and heating systems, replacement of doors and windows in order to make these institutions more energy efficient. The budget allocated for the extensive repair of municipal educational institutions for 2024, according to the draft budget that is in the process of public consultations, is 110 million lei, of which over 54 million lei is intended for high schools, while over 36 million lei – for early education institutions.

In 2022 and 2023, significant investments were made, given the implementation of the energy efficiency project covering 18 educational institutions by the Chisinau City Hall, with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank. In addition, over the past three years, funds from the municipal budget were used to improve the energy efficiency of about 50 educational institutions. But the replacement of windows and doors is also a permanent priority, which is the first step towards energy efficiency, after which the change of lighting fixtures comes, said Angela Kutasevich.



In order to ensure the quality of the educational process, annually, before the start of the school year, an assessment of the level of preparedness of the institutions is made in a number of regards, such as medical-sanitary training and monitoring of the correctness of designing of teaching documents. The operating authorizations of the sanitary and fire-fighting facilities are also checked and, if there are particular gaps, these are dealt with. Major problems that can prevent the institution from working are not identified, the deputy mayor said.

Enrollment of children

Angela Kutasevich also noted that there is a constant increase in the number of students enrolled in the first grade in Chisinau institutions. According to the enrolment plan, 10,409 children are to be enrolled in the first grade this year. So far, 8,685 children have been enrolled. There are 1,395 vacancies for the third or final stage of the registration process, of August 20-30, where the exceptional situations will be examined by commissions of the institutions with available places. By comparison, in the 2023-2024 school year, 10,406 places were planned and 11,101 children were enrolled. As regards the extent to which the available places cover the applications submitted by parents, the coverage at the municipal level is 100%.




The Chisinau schools with a large number of children enrolled have a certain history, educational culture or institutional culture. The uniform is also an indicator of parents’ preference, as well as of school’s performance at the Baccalaureate exams, teachers with higher grades, educational profiles. Angela Kutasevich recommends the parents to choose the school near the home so that the student is not stressed or does not waste a lot of time travelling to the educational institution. “We do not encourage competition. We encourage teamwork, individualized work and a supportive approach, methods of interaction with children that stimulate each student based on individual preferences, interest,” said the deputy mayor.

Body of teachers

Although there is an increase in the number of teachers employed in municipal educational institutions, the need to complete the teaching staff remains. At the end of 2023-2024, there were 310 vacant positions, of which 186 were in early childhood education institutions and 124 in primary and secondary education institutions. Young specialists do not really come to schools, especially to teach real subjects, such as physics, chemistry, biology or mathematics. The biggest problem is the aging of the teaching staff. The average age of teachers in the municipality is 47-48 years old. The problem will worsen in at most five years because the number of those who are approaching the 35-year work period is significant (the full contribution period for retirement is 24 years, editor’s note).



For the 2024-2025 academic year, the General Division of Education, Youth and Sports requested the Ministry of Education and Research to assign 638 teachers to municipal institutions. The problem of lack of staff is dealt with by different methods. In Chisinau, many teachers do the teaching norm with overload. Instead of 18 hours, they work 22 or 23 hours. A positive impact was also obtained by engaging 787 external teachers, who have a basic place in a particular school and work in another school simultaneously.

In the calendar year 2024, several teaching and auxiliary positions in early education institutions are vacant in the municipality of Chisinau. The low pays and demanding work do not encourage employment much. At the moment, 205 units of assistant educators and nannies, 50 units of cook and auxiliary cook and 41 units of dishwasher units are vacant.

Supporting students and teachers

The Chisinau City Hall has a tradition of financially assisting disadvantaged families in Chisinau municipality to prepare for the new school year. For each child who goes to school, a one-time sum of 700 lei is offered in aid. The aid is granted on the basis of the application submitted by the parents/guardian to the educational institution, to which the copy of the applicant’s identity document, the family composition certificate, the child’s birth certificate, the document confirming the degree of disability and other documents are attached. In 2020-2024, the number of beneficiaries of such aid was constant - around 8,000 children. For the 2024-2025 school year, the Division asked the City Hall to provide the first installment of aid for 6,118 students, said the deputy mayor.



The support provided by the municipality targets goes not only to students, but also to teachers. In addition to various allowances, there is also the opportunity to participate in vocational training activities free of charge, for example, to improve digital skills. Among the most recent events organized was the development of interactive digital physics textbooks, in which 126 teachers participated. The roundtable meeting “Implementation of technologies in realizing the knowledge function of the school library” was attended by 60 librarians from 58 educational institutions. Periodically, training is also organized on the Online Education platform, which has become a very useful support and tool for both teachers and students.

Milena Macarciuc, IPN