Seven to eight schools will be reorganized in each district

Currently the exact number of schools that will undergo reorganization as part of the education reform is not known, but it is estimated that seven to eight schools will be reorganized in each district, Education Minister Mihail Sleahtitchi has told Info-Prim Neo. “We don't have exact figures, because they depend on the local authorities. There are, on one hand, very responsible districts, which provided all the necessary information in tjis respect and, on the other hand, there are districts which refuse to do it. These are mainly districts which are headed by Communist members (ed: who oppose the reform)”, said the minister. Mihail Sleahtitchi also explained, that under existing laws, the reorganization does not depend on the Ministry of Education, but on local authorities, as the Ministry only gives its consent. “According to law, the local authorities open, close and reorganize schools, with the Ministry's consent”. The minister added that the education reform was delayed by this summer's local elections. “The political rhetoric for two months was against the reform, as no mayoral candidate was ready to publicly accept the reorganization of schools. This was also true of candidates for district councilor's seats”. Mihail Sleahtitchi argued that the existence of a school always depended on the number of children: if there are few children you can't have a school, and if there are too many you have to open more than one school. There are 1,500 pre-university institutions in Moldova and by 2013 some 370 schools should undergo reorganization. The schools with few students will have to be closed, and their students will be provided with transport to schools in neighboring communities. The education reform is assisted by the World Bank-funded “Quality Education in Rural Moldova” Project, which has a budget of $10 million.