The public association “Solidary parents” sent an open letter to Prime Minister Pavel Filip in connection with the closing of kindergartens in summer for a period of 30 to 90 days, in many cases against the will of parents. The letter enumerates the problems related to such a practice, including the misinformation and manipulation of parents with false arguments, such as the existence of legal provisions and the fact that the temporary closing of the kindergarten was already decided and cannot be influenced by anyone, IPN reports.
“We address this open letter because we see no other solutions. It seems that in our country, the citizens, especially the children, no longer have a say, while the violation of the legal provisions and human rights by any public functionary is a deep-rooted and widely spread practice,” reads the letter.
The parents complain that even if free places are available at other kindergartens in the period of the vacation, these kindergartens are situated far away and the given alternatives in such conditions are unacceptable for parents. The parents also invoke the fact that the children are forced to go to two-three kindergartens, by two weeks at each. The closing periods of kindergartens situated in the same quarter are overlapped so as to invoke the lack of alternatives in the neighborhood.
“The current legislation of the Republic of Moldova does not envision vacations in early education institutions and this fact is in full compliance with the provisions of the Labor Code and with the economic realities in our country. This enables the parents to go calmly to work and to work productively and efficiently,” says the letter addressed to the Premier.
According to the association, even if the parents expressed their disagreement with the 42-day vacations in kindergartens by an online application (with over 3,000 signatures) and with the fact that the regulations initiated in 2015, which envision the introduction of the given vacations, wasn’t published in the Official Gazette, the authorities stopped the work of a number of kindergartens, the children being driven away. The parents request the Premier to become involved and identify urgent solutions to the given problem.
