The development of French-speaking bilingual classes in the Republic of Moldova is a clear proof of our country’s commitment to align its educational system with the European standards and to offer real opportunities to both teachers and students. Only by joining the European education network, the educational directives in our country will increase the quality and capacity of all those involved in the field, Gennady Rybakov, national coordinator of the project “Francophone Bilingual Classes”, stated in a public debate staged by IPN News Agency.

He believes that Moldova’s education system must be now connected better to the European education network. The project “Francophone Bilingual Classes”, which was born in the autumn of 1998, based on the Convention on the Creation of Bilingual Classes in the Republic of Moldova, signed by the Ministry of Education and the University Agency of Francophonie for a period of 12 years, is an eloquent example. Today, this bilingual educational program enjoys the support of the French state and is successfully applied in the eight high schools in the country.

“The “Francophone Bilingual Classes” project is probably the longest-running educational project in the Republic of Moldova, since 1998, and today we can call the French-speaking bilingual classes as classes of excellence thanks to the permanent modernization. Our partners invest more in teacher training and student training, who are the direct beneficiaries of this project. The “Francophone Bilingual Classes” project is the business card of the Francophonie in the Republic of Moldova. For there to be Francophonie at the university level and later at other levels, economically, diplomatically, first of all, the Francophonie must exist in the classrooms. The project is currently supported by six partners and was relaunched in 2021 by signing a partnership agreement between Moldova and France, which financially supports this project, through the French Embassy in Moldova, the French Alliance and the University Agency of Francophonie. Teacher training is the key axis of the project. From 2021 until now, the French state has offered 60 scholarships to teachers within the project, both French teachers and teachers of non-linguistic subjects,” said Gennady Rybakov.

Also, through the “Francophone Bilingual Classes” project, both teachers and students have the opportunity to visit France, but also to be connected to the French educational system and then apply the European educational experience at the local level.

“The goal is to establish twinning between the educational institutions of the Republic of Moldova and those of France. In this regard, we have also organized a fact-finding visit for students, but also for all the managers of French-speaking bilingual institutions and those who are responsible for these classes. This fact-finding visit consisted of training seminars focused on ensuring the quality of bilingual education, but also visits to Parisian schools, with European sections,” stated Gennady Rybakov.

According to him, another advantage of the support offered to this program by France and other European partners is that the educational process on the French-speaking bilingual dimension is also ensured by French natives, who make an essential contribution to this type of studies. “It is for the sixth consecutive year that the French Alliance recruits young volunteers, native French people who, with the agreement of the Ministry of Education, come to Moldova and throughout the year organize various extracurricular activities. They come to bring added value to what teachers do in the classrooms, for example, debates, media workshops, etc.,” said Gennady Rybakov.

The European investments for the “Francophone Bilingual Classes” project will continue in the 2024-2025 academic year.

“We are talking about awareness-raising activities, initiation into French in kindergartens, with different activities, in the form of games, to arouse interest in the French language, to organize mini-shows, etc. The advantage of the project is that the students also study the second foreign language – English. So, most of them have DELF or DALF degrees and a Cambridge diploma. Another initiative, which is also financially supported by the French state, is a media project that will also start in the fall. We organized training seminars guided by a French journalist,” concluded the national coordinator of the “Francophone Bilingual Classes” project.

The public debate entitled “Quality education in the Republic of Moldova, the role of European projects. Context and impact” was the third edition of the project “Benefits of the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EU for people, community and country”, supported by the Soros Foundation Moldova. The content of this debate does not represent the official position of the Soros Foundation Moldova.