The community around the “Gheorghe Asachi” College in the small northern town of Lipcani asks the central authorities to reconsider merging it with a larger institution in Balti.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the college’s principal Daniela Didic drew attention to the potential consequences of the reorganization for the school staff and the impact on the local students’ access to education.

“We have about 50 employees who will be left without a job. The students, too, will be affected by the merger: they will have nowhere to go to school, because the institution with which we are supposed to be merged is located 130 kilometers away. Not all parents, not all students can afford to travel to Balti to continue their studies”, said the principal.

For 60 years, the college has been training staff in pedagogy and secretarial services. With the diploma and qualifications obtained, students can easily find jobs. Last year, out of a group of 24 graduates, 18 people found employment close to home and became taxpayers, noted Daniela Didic.

The Briceni district council is not the founder of the college, but it cannot remain indifferent to the situation that this educational institution is going through, said the president of the district, Dorin Pavaloi. The official shares the concerns that the merger process will have a negative impact on the teaching staff and students. “Before launching such a reorganization process, there must be consultations at the local level first”, said Pavaloi.

Daniela Cebotari, the college’s chief accountant, says that even now the situation is not easy for some students who only manage to pay their tuition fees in installments. Their expenses will increase if they have to travel 130 kilometers to Balti. Living costs in Balti are higher, and many parents are not comfortable with the idea of sending their children to school so far from home.

Lipcani mayor Evghenii Dumenco is worried that the 250 children attending the college will have to leave the town. Dumenco demands that the institution is allowed to continue working in its current status.

Tatiana Guțan, a teacher and also the mother of a student attending the Lipcani college, is worried about the prospects of her landing a new job and shares the concerns of other parents about the expenses related to sending their children to a school far away from home.