Two years ago, the Ministry of Education established a dedicated department specializing in ethnic minorities for the first time. Its primary focus is on developing educational policies for minority groups, according to Veaceslav Reabcinschi, Director of the Agency for Interethnic Relations, who spoke during the public debate "The Educational System – The Key to Social Integration in the Republic of Moldova" IPN reports.

Reabcinschi noted that competent authorities have collaborated closely to improve this sector, initiating a multilingual education process. "We are working with international partners on multilingual education initiatives. In the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, efforts are being made to introduce concepts for studying the Romanian language", he said.

The lack of proficiency in the state language poses integration difficulties, Reabcinschi emphasized. In response, for two consecutive years, the Ministry of Education has organized Romanian language courses for adults.

"By the end of 2024, 12,000 people have completed these courses. There is significant demand, and the program will continue. It is a successful project", he affirmed.

This year, for the first time, several teachers from the Taraclia district, Gagauzia, and Balti municipality had the opportunity to travel to Romania to enhance their language skills and improve their proficiency in Romanian.

Reabcinschi also stressed the need for more qualified teachers in schools where teaching is conducted in minority languages. "We lack teachers who can teach certain subjects in their mother tongue. This is because they studied the subjects in Russian or Romanian," he explained.

The public debate "The Educational System – The Key to Social Integration in the Republic of Moldova" is part of the project "IPN News Agency for Social Cohesion and Pro-European Moldova", funded by IMS.