Moldovan education minister unveils achievements in 100 days of mandate, priorities for next period

Chisinau, 24 October /MOLDPRES/ - Education and Research Minister Dan Perciun today presented the principal achievements in those first 100 days of mandate and the priorities for the next period.   
The minister referred to the general education, vocational education and higher education. Thus, according to the official, the teachers from all education institutions of Moldova will receive a one-off payment of 5,000 lei and the non-didactic employees – 3,000 lei. ‘’About 100,000 people will benefit from these increases, with over 450 million lei allocated to this end. This is the biggest payment in Moldova’s history in the interest of the teaching staff,’’ Dan Perciun said.  
At the same time, 33 out of those 40 titles of new textbooks planned for printing in 2023 have reached the schools. Another 67 new titles of textbooks will be edited next year. At the same time, the Education and Research Ministry (MEC) launched the process of purchasing 60 school buses with Romania’s support. They are to be delivered till early September 2024, with over 60 million lei allocated on this purpose.  
Till the end of this year, the sanitary units will be renovated in 25 schools, with 25 million lei allocated to this end. Similar projects will be carried out in another 100 schools in next year. Another achievement mentioned by Minister Perciun is the distribution of 5,000 computers in schools from Moldova, with 69 digital laboratories arranged.   
„Till the end of this year, we have several priorities in the general education. We are in process of negotiations with the trade unions and the Finance Ministry, in order to meet the salary expectations of the teachers in the next year. We hope to have, by the end of next November, a clear-cut figure as to the salary increases due to be made starting from 2024. We know the trade union’s requests and we work to achieve that level,’’ the minister said.  
Dan Perciun also said that the National Institute of Education and Leadership would be created in Moldova, which implies the setting up of a network of 1,000 mentors in the general education institutions – people who are to help young specialists in the process of integration in the community and dissemination of good practices in the system.  
The official noted that, in next November, a new concept on the carrying out of the examination in the ninth form would be unveiled. ‘’We want to enhance the reliability and the level of integrity of the holding of the exam in the ninth form. We have a good Baccalaureate experience. This was not an easy experience, but is one appreciated by the society and we explore the option to extend it also to the examination of the ninth form,’’ the minister specified.    
As for the vocational education sector, the authorities are set to speed up the dual education, provide with teaching materials the vocational schools and colleges and increase the investments in infrastructure. As far as the higher education is concerned, the increase in the salaries of university teachers and the renovation of student hostels are among the MEC’s priorities. 
Dan Perciun was appointed to the office of education minister in last mid-July, after the former minister Anatolie Topala had resigned.