After a break of nearly two years, the education working groups representing Chisinau and Tiraspol convened for a meeting. The session was held online with technical support from the OSCE Mission to Moldova, IPN reports.
The Chisinau delegation was led by Valentina Olaru, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Research. The meeting also included the participation of directors from eight Romanian-language schools in the Transnistrian region.
One of the topics discussed was ensuring that educational institutions have their own premises, particularly the "Evrika" Theoretical Lyceum in Ribnita and the "Stefan cel Mare si Sfant" Theoretical Lyceum in Grigoriopol.
Additionally, Chisinau experts raised concerns about Tiraspol's discriminatory and unilateral measures to increase utility tariffs for all Romanian-language schools in the region, starting January 1, 2024, which they argued are illegal.
The average percentage increase in utility prices for Romanian-language schools in 2024 compared to 2023 is 82%. Specifically, natural gas costs have risen by 501%, electricity by 125%, and other utilities have seen similar significant hikes.
The next meeting of the education working groups is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. The previous meeting of this kind took place on October 18, 2022.
