Children whose parents are working in menial jobs in Chisinau risk remaining out of school

Tens of rural families that migrate to the capital city to find job opportunities expose their children to the risk of remaining out of the school system. According to the head of the City General Department for Education, Youth and Sports (DGETS), Tatiana Tverdohleb, children form other localities are enrolled in Chisinau’s schools on condition that their parents produce job certificates or the copy of the residential rental contract. In the opposite case, when the residence is not confirmed, the matriculation is refused, because the schools avoid assuming responsibility for keeping school records for these children. “There are cases when we have to search for the children all over the city. Without a permanent address, they frequently change their residence. No one keeps record of how many children come to the capital and how many leave it”, Tatiana Tverdohleb explained. According to her, the parents who come to the capital city without knowing what exactly they are looking for and without having a roof over their heads, put in peril not only their own lives and safety, but also their children’s. DGETS head says it is very important that the reasons that make the parents migrate to Chisinau are investigated in order to find solutions that would protect the children’s rights, including the right to education. Tatiana Tverdohleb went on to add that unofficial surveys show that most of the children begging on Chisinau’s streets hail from rural areas.