SLP is against the governmental decision setting unique quotes for students’ contract matriculation

MPs of the Social-Liberal Party (SLP) request constitutional control for the Governmental decision nr.434 from April 25, 2006 which sets a unique quote for the contract matriculation of students to higher education institutions of Moldova. The party submitted a notification to the Constitutional Court, is presented in SLP’s press release. Social-liberals consider that this normative act has political subtext, and aims at massively dismissing the inconvenient university teaching staff as a result of diminishing the number of students that will be matriculated this year. SLP states that the Government has the right to set the quotes for the education financed by the state budget but it can not settle fixed quotes for the contract studies. As well the higher education institutions, both state and private-, being accredited legally are free to matriculate students depending on their capacities, inclusively technical-material capacities. SLP considers that the decision violates the constitutional provisions on the autonomy of universities, right to education and loyal concurrence protection, as well as the international agreements which Moldova has signed. SLP considers that the Governmental policies must lead to halting the emigration of qualified teaching staff and to creating encouraging conditions for private initiative, and the decision to reduce the number of students and limiting the access of youth to higher education proves that the government has another priorities. According to the Governmental decision, in 2006, in the higher education institutions will be matriculated by 20.4% less students comparing with the last year. From the total planned number of 27 685 persons, 7645 will be matriculated to universities with budgetary financing and about 20 thousand on contract basis.