Education Ministry recommends education institutions to create conditions for students’ participation in Work and Travel Programme between May 18 and September 13

The Ministry of Education and Youth expressed its regret at the fact that the services provided by the companies Work and Travel in Moldova do not meet the generally accepted quality standards, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a communique, the ministry says that the students were asked to give their opinions about this. The young people invoked the high cost of the programme, the multitude of false contracts, the non-correspondence of the contractual stipulations regarding salaries and, very often, the absence of a workplace and of the promised accommodation. “The Ministry of Education considers that the behaviour of some of the companies is irresponsible and calls on all the companies that provide Work and Travel services to take steps to ensure a high quality of the services provided,” the communiqué says. After consultations with representatives of education establishments’ administrations, the U.S. Embassy, student and youth organisations and with managers of Work and Travel companies, the Ministry of Education and Youth decided to recommend the higher education institutions to create conditions for the students’ participation in the Work and Travel Programme between May 18 and September 13, 2008. The Ministry says it will closely cooperate with the parties involved so as to ensure the quality of the services provided, to guarantee the security of the students that take part in the programme and the integrity of the academic process. Earlier, Minister of Education and Youth Victor Tvircun said that the Work and Travel programmes should not be left in private hands, because this is a matter of citizens’ lives and safety. Late last year, the ministry announced that it will examine this question in February in order to find a solution in the students’ favour so as to enable them to travel and make some money and to guarantee their security. Based on U.S. Embassy checks in November 2007, over 1,000 persons of 5,041, or about 20% of the visa holders under this programme, did not return from the US; 42% of the students returned to Moldova after the official start of classes. Only 36% came back to Moldova on time.