Although many parents consider that today's diplomas have little value, they still want their children to go to college. Three out of five parents believe that children will graduate from higher education, shows a research conducted by the Institute of Public Policies, in partnership with the Center for Sociological Investigations and Marketing "CBS-AXA".
The findings of the research were presented at an IPN press conference. About 71% of interviewed parents have a good or very good opinion about Moldovan education. The share of those who have a bad or very bad opinion about education in the Republic of Moldova is statistically significant, being 24%.
Overall, the respondents' opinions about general education remain confusing, as shown by the discrepancy between the share of those hoping for higher education for their children, about 61%, and the share of those who consider that today's diplomas have little value, about 34%. Additionally, the share of respondents who consider that private education is better than public education is about 23%. A significant share of parents, about 39%, consider that children learn at school things that they do not agree with, that students receive too much homework - about 38%, and that the students' schedule is overloaded - about 43%.
"It is not necessary to aim to get the best marks. If you feel tired or the homework is not interesting, aim for a seven. The parents consider that there should be as little homework as possible, while we tried to explain that there are children that do all the homework and ask for additional assignments. We should not impede these children”, said Anatol Gremalschi, study coauthor and an expert in educational policies.
Despite the fact that most parents have good and very good opinions about education and schools in Moldova, about 67% of them consider that, in order to get top grades, a child needs supplemental lessons, while almost 49% of respondents would like their children to study abroad.
"When interpreting data, we must take into account the complexity of conditions that shaped the opinions of the respondents. Some assessments were issued by parents who know next to nothing about quality education standards”, said Vasile Cantarji, CBS-AXA sociologist, in regard to some contradictions in the interviewees' answers. "On the one hand, we declare ourselves satisfied with the education the child receives. On the other hand, we want the child to learn abroad”, explained the sociologist.
The poll surveyed adult caretakers, whose child or children attend primary, secondary or high school. The survey was conducted on a sample of 516 respondents, while the margin of error of the survey is ± 4.3%.
