Chisinau City Hall plans to address international institutions accredited in Chișinău regarding the alleged harassment of school directors and educational leaders, as well as the discretionary allocation of funds by government institutions. The statement was made by Mayor Ion Ceban during a municipal meeting, IPN reports.
Andrei Pavaloi, Deputy Head of the General Directorate of Education, Youth, and Sports, claims that representatives of the ruling party and various state structures, including municipal councilors, ministers, and members of parliament, have recently been exerting pressure on school directors in the capital. This pressure is allegedly justified by complaints from parents. Additionally, several municipal school directors have reportedly been called and warned after participating in meetings about teacher salaries held earlier.
"Officials visit institutions, verbally harass their directors, and interfere in the educational process. Directors are summoned to the Ministry of Education and Research (MEC) to provide explanations, even though any issues should first be addressed to the General Directorate of Education, Youth, and Sports (DGETS), which would form a working group to verify the accuracy of the claims", Pavaloi said.
According to him, a recent government amendment to the funding model for schools, based on per-student allocations, will deduct 1% from school budgets starting January 1, 2025. This amount will be transferred to a special fund created by the Ministry of Education, which will decide how the funds are spent.
"It’s unfortunate that the ministry has chosen to tap into the already modest school budgets. These funds were traditionally used for annual repairs or essential supplies for schools", Pavaloi added during the meeting.
When contacted by IPN, the Ministry of Education and Research labeled the deputy’s statements as manipulative and inaccurate. The ministry advised him to focus on efficient budget management for educational institutions and to refrain from politicizing issues related to teacher salaries.
The MEC stated that next year’s planned budget for schools (funded by level II local public authorities) is approximately 1.3256 billion lei higher than this year, while kindergartens (funded by level I local public authorities) will receive about 416.4 million lei more. These additional resources are intended to cover salary increases and other needs. Moreover, the ministry will manage an investment fund equivalent to 1% of the total education budget, or approximately 134 million lei. This fund will be used to purchase school buses, digital equipment, and furniture, as well as to finance technical projects for expanding the network of model schools.
Regarding allegations of pressure on school directors, the MEC stated that its staff had not contacted or intimidated any directors during meetings about supplementary state budget allocations for salaries in municipal educational institutions. Concerning petitions about bullying cases in schools, the MEC emphasized that directors were not pressured to make specific decisions under ministry directives. However, the ministry noted it has the authority to request explanations from directors and engage in discussions to resolve individual cases.
