Given that the Republic of Moldova is in the process of intense communication with the European Union, our country will be eligible in 2027 to receive pre-accession funds and then we need to strengthen capacities at the national level in order to be able to continue implementing important projects in the field of education, Ludmila Pavlov, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Education and Research, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency.
Ludmila Pavlov said that the educational infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova develops continuously. The modernization of the education structure in Romania is carried out with the substantial support of the European Union, through various projects that its funds in Moldova. The creation of a network of 35 Model Schools throughout the country is the most recent project in this regard. “We are talking about a large project, such as the Model School, to which the European Union contributes fully through a program to the value of €10 million. The program has several dimensions. It focuses on digitalization, infrastructure, logistics, teacher training. So far, 35 schools from all the regions of the country have been identified. Thus, the EU project will contribute to the renovation of ten schools out of this total number. It is a long-term project. We will continue not only with these 35 schools. The European support for this project is considerable. In this regard, we are also identifying partners among the Member States. For example, two weeks ago we signed a partnership agreement with Poland, which will offer us €1 million within this project,” stated the official.
Technical vocational education is another component of Moldova’s education system that is supported by the European Union. Thus, the main purpose and objectives of the European projects in this regard are to improve the quality of vocational education in Moldova.
“In 2014, we had a large project in the field of technical vocational education, which cost about €30 million. Through this project, we managed to modernize the system and create those Centers of Excellence in technical vocational education. Basically, 10 centers were created, after the initiation of the project, and were continuously strengthened. The European Union continues to help us on this dimension,” said Lyudmila Pavlov.
According to her, the quality of education at all levels can be increased by ensuring continuous training for teachers. However, in order to improve the quality of teaching and introduce modern methods of education, special emphasis needs to be placed on this chapter. Thus, thanks to the financial support of the European Union and in cooperation with partners from UNICEF and UNDP, the National Institute of Education and Leadership was created, which aims to train 1,000 mentors, to develop mentoring programs and partnerships for teaching practice, but also to promote the teaching profession among young people. “Through the European Union’s effort, the National Institute of Education and Leadership is supported in its work. Its goal is to rethink the concept of continuous teacher training from the perspective of the witnessed international trends, from the perspective of European rrequirements and good practices and from the perspective of the needs of the national education system,” stated Ludmila Pavlov.
The European Union fully supports students and academics through the Eramus+ program, which offers a range of opportunities to students, researchers, teachers and educational institutions around the world. Moreover, the Eramus+ program changes destinies because, in addition to acquiring skills in the field of personal development, the participants also have access to the culture of the country to which they leave, to the promotion of an intercultural dialogue. A change of mentality takes place. “If we refer to particular results, more than 30 capacity building projects have been implemented. This means support for curricular development, for study programs, for equipment, for the exchange of experience, for the promotion of university governance. The projects are built in such a way that one or two countries outside the EU area co-opt into a consortium with one or two EU member countries. This means direct communication for 2-3 years, exchange of experience, investments in teaching materials. But since 2014, we have had this openness to the so-called credit mobility, that is opportunities for young people to go for a semester or an academic year to a university in EU states. The figures are impressive – about 6,000 scholarships intended for both students and teachers, of which about 3,600 were for students and teachers from the Republic of Moldova to EU member states and the rest for young people and teachers from the EU who came to our country,” concluded Ludmila Pavlov.
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.
