Members of the Chișinău Municipal Council have accused Mayor Ion Ceban of putting up for sale public land that had been designated for the construction of a school and a kindergarten.
Ion Ceban is serving his second term as mayor of Chișinău. During that time, critics note, he has not built a single new school. Today, children are forced to study in overcrowded classrooms, with class sizes sometimes reaching 40 students. Nevertheless, Ceban has put up for auction public land allocated for a school and kindergarten for 14.5 million lei.
“Even without the construction of new residential districts, schools in the Ciocana sector already have no available places. Now Chișinău City Hall is selling land so that even more residential complexes can be built. Where will city residents send their children to school or kindergarten? During his two terms as mayor, Ceban has not built a single new school or kindergarten in Chișinău, despite managing a budget of 10 billion lei,” said Alexandru Vornicu, the mayor of Stăuceni.
Schools under the city’s administration currently operate in multiple shifts, with some children attending classes in three shifts because of the shortage of classroom space.
Mayor Ceban has not yet publicly responded to the accusations. However, representatives of the Party of Socialists sharply criticized the decision, arguing that the Ciocana district urgently needs new educational infrastructure, especially in the area of Mircea cel Bătrân and Bucovina streets, where nearby schools and kindergartens have long been operating beyond capacity.
Municipal councilor Alexander Odintsov stated that two plots of land are planned for sale: one covering two hectares, intended for a school, and another of one hectare, designated for a kindergarten.
“We are categorically opposed to this decision,” he said.
According to the Socialists, the average annual tuition at a private school in Chișinău is approximately €5,000, raising the question of whether residents of Ciocana are prepared to pay such sums for their children’s education.
Former head of the Rîșcani district administration Victor Polyakov added that land in Chișinău should only be sold or leased through transparent auctions, while emphasizing that the city also needs a clear long-term urban development plan.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dan Perciun also criticized the management of the capital’s schools, stating that no comprehensive strategy to address overcrowded classrooms has been approved in recent years.
“Over the past six years, more than 1 billion lei allocated for schools and kindergartens has remained unused by City Hall. These were funds provided by the government but left unspent due to poor financial management. How many schools could have been renovated with this money? How many kindergartens could have been modernized?” Perciun said.
The situation appears paradoxical: the government allocates funds, yet they are not used for their intended purpose. This naturally raises the question of whether the city’s leadership is truly focused on children’s welfare—or whether selling land originally reserved for schools has become a higher priority.
