“Overlooking these truths, the political opoonents of the government say that the administrative incorporation of the institution into the Agrarian University would “kill Taraclia district”, concluding that we “need peace”. Is this their view about the discussion on quality of higher education in Moldova?”
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Protest noticed where one needs and by who needs
The things that are started wrong cannot go well. The scandal about the reorganization of universities already left the borders of the Republic of Moldova, generating false information and the risk that the authorities will be engaged in sterile justifications at foreign level.
The previous days, the Bulgarian press and not only this reported that a protest “against the closure” of the Taraclia State University was held in front of the institution. The event involved “former and current students, teachers, civic activists”. They all – about 30 persons – were incorporated into the “family” picture taken on the stairs of the University. With slogans in Romanian and Bulgarian - “We want to study in the mother tongue at home!” and “Our university is the one from Taraclia” - the protesters produced an open letter, asking by this the President, the Prime Minister, the minister of education to keep this unique university in the education system of Moldova as an independent educational institution.
Amid the general bewilderment related to the suddenly proposed reorganization, the protest in Taraclia remained unnoticed in Chisinau.
But it was noticed in Sofia. Not by government bodies, but by MEP Angel Angel Dzhambazki, co-president of the radical right party Bulgarian National Movement (IMRO - ВNМ) about which the Bulgarian segment of Wikipedia says that this expresses a conservative national ideology, while the Romanian segment, besides this, attributes to this “ultranationalism, populism of the right, Euroskepticism, anti-Romanies” and other more special beliefs... As they say: tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.
This places the subject in another dimension. “In Moldova, the rights of Bulgarians are violated”, says the press in Sofia, making reference to the MEP’s letter to the European Commission. The politician says the government’s intention to merge the Taraclia State University with the Teacher Training University of Chisinau would cause damage to the cause of “self-management of the Bulgarian community” in the Republic of Moldova.
Why doesn’t the politician complain to the Council of Europe, which is a human rights organization? Because nothing of his objections will remain if these are subject to an expert appraisal. The European Commission has other prerogatives than those wanted by the ultra-nationalist MEP.
With image and role, but without students
The politician didn’t invoke any concrete damage that would be caused by incorporating the Taraclia University into the Teacher Training University of Chisinau, except for the supposition that the change “causes damage to the educational institution’s image and role”. But what are its current image and role? Nothing is said about this. Also, the politician does not refer to the quality of specialists who receive higher education diplomas in Taraclia and to the place in the European/world rankings of universities, which is ensured by the “image and role” of the institution.
The absence of students is the first and most serious problem at the university in Taraclia. This is followed by others, but we will not say only that the lack of students as a result of demographic degradation of society affects all the educational institutions and is one of the reasons for the merger of the universities managed with public funds (IPN). By the way, in Bulgaria, the demographic situation is also not the best and the number of students also declines.
The paradox is that the higher education system in Bulgaria annually absorbs from Moldova about 100 young Bulgarians, who are potential students in Taraclia to whom the state from where their ancestors come covers tuition fees and pays scholarship. Nothing can be said here and it is their right to choose and no one attacks them. The teeth are closer than the parents, says a saying that appeared in more barbarous times.
To argue the dissatisfaction with the alleged attack on the “self-management” of the Bulgarian community, the MEP considers it appropriate to refer to the agreement between Chisinau and Sofia, which stipulates that the Bulgarian side will provide assistance to the Taraclia State University in the Republic of Moldova.
Based on this agreement, the Bulgarian side is present in Taraclia with teachers, student exchanges, student internships, training courses etc., but has nothing to do with administration aspects. However, the MEP says the changes that follow are a direct violation of the agreement between Bulgaria and Moldova.
University of Taraclia, unique in the world
We cannot disagree with the fact that the substance of this bilateral document can be modified only with the common and mutual consent of the sides, but this does not have any influence on the planned reorganization. No impediment is placed for Sofia, regardless of the organogram of the educational institution, not to be able to further support the compatriots.
Moreover, the authorities in Sofia note with respect that the Taraclia University is the only higher education establishment outside Bulgaria and, as the MEP also says, is designed to keep the cultural identity of the Bulgarian community. The MEP also says that the ethnic identity of the “Bessarabian Bulgarians” is maintained by the functioning of a number of training and cultural institutions that manage to keep the Bulgarian spirit and that develop “owing to the good relations between the two states and governments”. What is this if not self-management?
Nevertheless, the politician warns Brussels that “the future administrative changes will bring the self-management of the Bulgarian community in Moldova to an end”.
But the lack of arguments gives the impression that the author says one thing, but thinks about another thing. By the way, in Bulgaria there are administrative units where other ethnic groups than the main one, for example the Turkish one, dominate, but the problem of creating an autonomous unit was never raised. It is yet true that the ethnic cleansing in Bulgaria, especially of the summer of 1989, called “departure” by the regime of Todor Zhivkov, is not an issue of which an EU member state can be proud
In the internal polemic, the opponents of the PAS (see above link to IPN debates), “excite” the ethnic component of the Taraclia University where only two programs of study are actually in Bulgarian, while the rest are in Russian.
To remove this shortcoming that affects the perpetuation of the “spirit of the Bessarabian Bulgarians”, the authorities envision the development of cooperation with the University of Ruse, but the programs of study need to be also ordered. Only one of the programs has been certified for now. Overlooking these truths, the political opoonents of the government say that the administrative incorporation of the institution into the Agrarian University would “kill Taraclia district”, concluding that we “need peace”. Is this their view about the discussion on quality of higher education in Moldova?
Now we can only say that the reorganization of state universities causes damage indeed, but not to the “Bulgarian self-management” and not to the education system, but to the whole Moldovan society and the Republic of Moldova owing to the government’s incapacity to talk to those who voted for them to do good things and to secure the people’s support in the promotion of a difficult, but necessary reform.
