The costs for preschool education rose by 11% in 2009-2014. In 2014, these represented 23.7% of all the education costs, an annual rise of 4%, shows a study of the costs for education services carried out with the assistance of UNICEF, IPN reports.
The study shows that the education costs in 2009 came to 1.1 billion lei, while in 2014 rose to 1.8 billion lei. Bogdan Belciu, the representatives of “PriceWaterHouse” that carried out the study, said that 92% of the financing for preschool education came from the state budget. The other 8% of the costs were covered with special sources and investment projects.
57% of the public costs for preschool education go on the remuneration of the personnel of institutions, while 41% - on products and services, half of which on food products for kindergartens and crèches.
The public costs for education rose by over 6% annually in the period. During five years, the expenses increased from 5.6 billion lei to 7.8 billion lei. The education costs represented 17.6% of all the public costs, down from 20.4%. The figure is expected to decrease to 15.8% by 2020, despite the fact that the education costs in 2020 are projected to rise by over 3%.
UNICEF Deputy Representative in Moldova Margarita Tileva said the financial forecasting for education services must be improved. Investment is needed in infrastructure because there are yet communities where there is no high quality infrastructure for preschool education. The authorities should make additional effort to include children from poorer families and families of national minorities in preschool education.
The study was conducted between December 2015 and January 2016. It covered a sample of 1,453 kindergartens.
