Training
The Moldovan education system was
fundamentally changed when the country became
independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Moldovan
(Romanian) replaced Russian as the dominant language of
instruction and communist ideology was removed from the
curriculum. However, the language issue has continued to
be a delicate subject right into the 2010s.
Until the late 1980s, education in Moldova followed
the Soviet model. It meant that teaching communist
ideology, Russian and Russian history had to take place
at the expense of, for example, Romanian history and
literature as well as the Moldavian language. Most of
the teaching took place in Russian. In connection with
independence, Romanian history and literature were
included in the curriculum. Many Russian-speaking
schools were closed, while contacts with schools in
Romania increased.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Moldova, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
Nowadays, Moldavian (Romanian) is the dominant
language of instruction and many Moldavans study in
Romania. Minority groups are formally entitled to
teaching in their mother tongue, but this is not always
complied with.
The children begin compulsory schooling at the age of
seven. The school should be free of charge, but parents
are often asked to give voluntary grants. The compulsory
school is divided into a four-year low school and a
higher school that lasts for seven years (in turn
divided into two stages of five and two years
respectively). This is followed by voluntary vocational
or college preparatory upper secondary education.
Almost all children start school, and nine out of ten
pupils complete primary school. More than two out of
three students continue to study at the upper secondary
level.
The largest among the institutions of higher
education are the State University of Moldova and the
University of Moldova, both in the capital Chișinău. The
number of students at colleges and universities has
increased sharply since the mid-1990s. Many Moldavians
acquire higher education in the EU, mainly in Romania.
In the early 2000s, the ruling Communist Party was
accused of political involvement in education,
especially in the language issue. In 2002,
demonstrations broke out in Chișinău as the government
tried to make Russian a compulsory subject in elementary
school. Since 2003, the government has appointed and
appointed rectors and decision-makers at the local
education authorities.
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FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
86.5 percent (2017)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
18 (2017)
Reading and writing skills
99.1 percent (2012)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
18.5 percent (2016)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
18.5 percent (2016)
2012
July
Team against communist symbols
Calls for a ban on the use of communist symbols for political purposes;
Communist Party leader Voronin explains that the party intends to retain the
traditional symbol with the hammer and the cutter. The law comes into force in
October of that year.
Pedophiles should be castrated
A law comes into force that makes chemical castration mandatory as punishment
for those convicted of pedophilia (sexual abuse of minors, in this case children
under 15). The punishment should also be punishable in certain cases of rape.
Chemical castration means that the sexual drive of the convicted person is
greatly reduced by medication with hormones.
March
Judge becomes new president
In the seventh attempt, Parliament elects the government's candidate - the
politically independent and inexperienced judge Nicolae Timofti - to the
Moldovan presidential president, after also three communists voted for him,
likely to put an end to the deadlock that delayed both political and economic
reforms and slowed the country's approach to the EU. The country has not had an
ordinary head of state since September 2009. After the election, Timofti
expresses strong support for the government's efforts to integrate Moldova into
Europe, while emphasizing that he is a politically independent head of state.
The Communists, who also boycotted this vote, condemn the three defectors. Tens
of thousands of Communist Party supporters march in a protest demonstration.
February
Transnistria's hard currency has shaken
Transnistria's newly elected President Shevchuk says before parliament it has
been revealed that 90 percent of the hard currency's breakaway republics have
been "transferred to other accounts" during the previous Smirnov regime. The
governor leaves the job.
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