Kindergartens will have a 42-day vacation this year. Thus, the managers of kindergartens will be able to set the vacation for the period between June 1 and August 31. A mandatory condition is for the parents to be informed two months before the vacation. Such provisions are contained in regulations thought up by the Ministry of Education.
Contacted by IPN, head of the Ministry’s Pre-university Education Division Valentin Crudu said the guidelines regulate an already existing situation as the kindergartens until now also had a vacation, but there was no concrete period when these could be on vacation. The regulations provide that the vacation will be organized in summer, not when the founder wants.
“There were situations when the founders, in the person of local mayor’s offices, closed the kindergartens in the course of the year without coordinating this thing with the Ministry of Education. We thus decided to work out regulations so that this period is definite. The regulations provide that the vacation period must be decided at least two months before announcing the vacation so that the parents know and can organize their leave,” stated the Division’s head.
Valentin Crudu said there are parents who are dissatisfied with tithe regulations, but these should realize that the educators should also go on leave, as all the teachers do. Besides educators, there are also the non-teaching personnel like medical assistants and cooks who do not have substitutes.
According to the Division’s head, the parents with minor children are given priority by the legislation when they need to decide the leave. So, they can go on leave when the kindergartens are on vacation. “They speak only about the leave of mothers, but what should fathers do? Both of the parents should assume responsibility for the children,” stated Valentin Crudu.
He also said that statistics show kindergarten attendance in summer is lower. For example, in Chisinau municipality it is twice lower. In other settlements, attendance can reduce to 30%. Also, it was scientifically established that the children in summer should better vacation.
Valentin Crudu noted that the fixing of the vacation period will be directed by the administration of each institution, which should take a decision after consulting the employees and authorities and in coordination with parents. So, the institutions can organize vacations in different periods and it is thus the responsibility of the kindergarten administration to establish agreements with institutions located nearby so that the parents who cannot keep the children home or take them to grandparents could transfer the children temporarily there.
In Moldova there are about 1,500 kindergartens that are attended by approximately 150,000 children. The 150 kindergartens of Chisinau municipality are attended by about 35,000 children.
