Students working in the fields instead of going to school

The students in Tartaul village of Cantemir district were taken to work in the fields with their parents' consent. They will recover the classes on Saturdays, said the head of the Cantemir District Education Division Viorica Mart. Asked by Info-Prim to comment on such a practice that is considered vicious by the children's ombudswoman, Viorica Mart said the head of Cantemir district made an ordinance to suspend the education process in order to help the economic entities with the harvesting. The children worked in the fields only during three days – on September 17, 21 and 22. The students whose parents were against had a mini vacation and will attend classes together with the other classmates on three Saturdays of October. According to Viorica Mart, the students in Ciobalaccia and Toceni villages of the same district also worked in the fields. Last week, children's ombudswoman Tamara Plamadeala sent a letter to the Cantemir District Education Division and the district's head, demanding that the local public authorities should ban such actions. The ombudswoman said the children's right to education is violated as they are exploited by labor. Such a practice runs counter to the national plan of action for preventing and eliminating the worst forms of child labor for 2010-2015. One in ten children in Moldova is out of school. The UNICEF data show 18% of the children who do not go to school perform different kinds of work.