Boarding school in Alexandru Ioan Cuza village will be closed

The auxiliary boarding school in Alexandru Ioan Cuza village, Cahul district, will be closed down as from December 28. A relevant Government Decision was published in the Official Gazette on December 7. This is the first institution that will be closed under the childcare residential system reform that has been implemented by the Government of Moldova during a year, in concert with UNICEF and the European Union. The Ministry of Education and Youth together with the public authorities of Cahul district will transfer the children from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza boarding school to the auxiliary boarding schools in Crihana Veche village, Cahul district, Sarata Noua village, Leova district, and Sarata-Galbena village, Hancesti district, between December 28, 2007 and January 8, 2008. At the same time, the Ministry and the local authorities will find employment for the laid off employees. The buildings and facilities of the boarding school, which are the village’s property, will be transferred to Cahul district gratis as from December 28, with the consent of the Cahul District Council. The auxiliary boarding schools to which the students from Alexandru Ioan Cuza school will be transferred will be financed from the funds included in the state budget law for 2008. The boarding school will be closed down with the aim of optimizing the network of residential institutions in accordance with the national child and family protection strategy, the national strategy and plan of action for reforming the childcare residential system for 2007-20012 and the national plan of action “Education for All” for 2004-2008, which were approved by the Government of Moldova. There are 67 childcare residential institutions in Moldova at present. Twenty-eight of them are auxiliary boarding schools that accommodate about 3,400 children.