The State University of Moldova (USM) decided not to change its decision to allocate places with funding from its own budget after the Ministry of Education requested it by an order a month ago to reexamine the decision flowing a notification by the Council of Rectors. In a press release placed on the USM’s website, it is said that the institution enjoys university autonomy and this enables it to manage by itself the organization of admission to studies, including the financial aspects, IPN reports.

The decision to allocate places with funding from its own budget forms part of the institutional strategy for supporting applicant students with a good standing, including by special scholarships. The institution’s administration insists that it obeyed the admission regulations and, respectively, the time limits for organizing and holding the process.

On August 10, the Ministry of Education ordered to create a commission to examine the admission session for the 2017-2018 academic year following an application from the Council of Rectors. The Council argued that the USM violated the regulations on the organization of admission and the time limits for organizing and holding the process. It also accused the USM’s administration of starting admission earlier and of issuing messages to applicants whereby these are informed that they were admitted and should immediately submit the documents in the original.

The president of the Council of Rectors Grigore Belostecinic, rector of the Academy of Economic Studies, said the USM admitted students on state budget-funded places at the most popular faculties, such as economy and law, and the rest of the universities remained without candidates at these specialties. Pro-rector for teaching activity of the USM Otilia Dandara replied that while other institutions use the money earned by themselves to repair offices, the USM chose to finance the studies of 373 students who had high grades, but didn’t manage to get a state budget-funded place owing to the stiff competition.