Teachers across Moldova are invited to participate, in the period from February 15 to April 15, in the republican stage of “The Pedagogue of the Year” Competition, organised by the Ministry of Education, youth and Sports (METS). At the final stage of the competition winners will be awarded money prises, the titles “Educator of the Year”, “Teacher of the Year” and “Professor of the Year”, and also upgrading didactic degrees. This competition is organised with the aim of stimulating the creative activity of teachers, as well as in order to increase the reputation of the profession. The competition is held in 3 stages: the local stage, organised by educational institutions in October and November; raional or municipal stage, organised by the respective Education Department in December and January; the republican stage, organised by the METS in the period from March to April of the each school year. Teachers are to present the competition commission the participation offer, an essay on the topic “The portrait of the ideal professor”, a draft lecture, etc. The winners of the regional stages would benefit from prises of 1000 lei, and the holders of the titles "Educator of the Year", "Teacher of the Year" and "Professor of the Year" will receive 5000 lei each. In order to ensure the well-prepared organisation of the Competition, the Ministry of Education and Youth instituted a steering committee which is headed by Deputy Education Minister Valentin Crudu.