Dan Perciun diploma row deepens after interview
Education Minister Dan Perciun, who has faced claims that he is not qualified for his post because he does not have a teaching degree, tried to prove his competence by publishing his “Cambridge diploma”, only to face fresh questions over the documents.
In an interview with Diez, Perciun brought his A-level certificates, a University of Cambridge diploma and other papers. Attentive viewers, however, noticed inconsistencies.
First, the certificate was signed by Vice-Chancellor Jonathan Nicholls, although in 2014 that post was held by Leszek Borysiewicz. Nicholls was at that time the University Registrary, the official who, under the rules, should have signed such documents. Second, the minister said he was among the top 0.51% of graduates in the United Kingdom, while his LinkedIn profile refers only to the “top 20%”. The discrepancy is obvious.
“I looked at how many pupils in the United Kingdom receive three A grades and one A in four subjects. I was among 0.51% of all graduates. That means I was in the top one percent of UK graduates that year,” Perciun said, attempting to explain where the remarkable figure had come from.
The minister also explained that the British system “does not issue a single secondary school diploma”, but instead provides separate certificates for each subject. He studied politics, history, economics and religious studies, and also sat an 11th-grade mathematics exam independently.
His workload was around 32 lessons a week, with classes even held on Saturdays. According to Perciun, he received an A in politics and A* grades in history, economics and religious studies. The signature on the certificate nevertheless raised questions, since Cambridge has strict rules: bachelor’s diplomas are signed by the University Registrary, not by the vice-chancellor.
Minister’s scrutiny of teachers turns back on him
Against this background, another initiative by the minister looks particularly revealing. In March 2026, Perciun said teachers who had trained in Moscow under a programme run by the Eurasia organisation would be stripped of their qualification categories for “propaganda”.
“We revoked the teaching grades of those who took part in events organised in the Russian Federation by structures under sanctions. <…> We gave the system a clear signal that tools of influence exist and that the ministry can intervene,” the minister said on the La prima sursă podcast.
According to him, the sanctions were prompted by the promotion of “false and dangerous narratives for the Republic of Moldova”. Notifications about the violations had been received from law enforcement agencies.
The minister also said visits to Moscow had become more frequent before the elections, while Eurasia allegedly disguised them as familiarisation trips, although in reality it was “promoting the concept of the ‘Russian world’”.
“We were quite categorical on this issue. We spoke, among other things, about revoking teaching degrees and other tools,” Perciun stressed.
The result is that a minister whose own diplomas have raised questions is actively stripping teachers of their qualification grades. The irony is that Perciun himself has no teaching degree and, according to media reports, his legal right to hold the post may also be open to doubt.
A social media campaign demanding that the minister publish his diplomas was already under way in August 2026. Blogger Aliona Kuiban wrote at the time that “transparency should be the same for everyone who holds public office, regardless of their political affiliation”. In response, Perciun brought his “diplomas” to the interview. Judging by the reaction, however, he has only created new questions.
