25 schools closed down

25 schools in Moldova won’t open their doors for pupils on September 1. They were closed as a result of the local and district public authorities’ measures to optimize education expenses. The preliminary data was obtained by Info-Prim Neo from the Ministry of Education. Overall, 45 schools from 23 districts were proposed to be closed. So far, the local council’s decisions have been approved in 25 cases. It was also decided in which schools the 1518 pupils from the closed ones would continue their studies. 92 other education institutions from 26 districts will be reorganized. For 47 of them, the decision to change their status beginning on September 1 has already been approved. 2740 children from these institutions would be transferred to district schools. For the 2012-2013 school year, the Ministry of Education offered the local public administrations 109 school buses for the transportation of pupils to district schools. Besides, local authorities would rent an additional 80 buses. The structural reform in education started in 2005. Its priorities were to increase the quality of education, to improve the efficiency of public expenses and to raise the responsibility of resource management. From 2005 onwards, 73 schools have been closed and 200 have been reorganized.