Dan Perciun defends school closures as “optimisation”
PAS is continuing to dismantle rural education under the familiar label of “optimisation”. By the end of this year, the Ministry of Education plans to close around 100 more rural schools. The exact list remains unclear. District councils will make the final decisions.
Education Minister Dan Perciun presents the move as a way to “improve the quality of children’s education”. However, the real consequences look very different. More school closures will speed up the decline of Moldovan villages. Families will move to district centres, larger towns or abroad. As a result, the damage to rural life and eventually to agriculture may become irreversible.
Teacher shortages expose a deeper crisis
The school closures are only one side of the problem. Teaching is also losing its status and appeal. Low salaries have made young people reluctant to enter the profession. This year, Moldovan schools had 1,586 vacancies. Yet only 429 young specialists found jobs across the entire country. The situation in some subjects is even worse. Out of 107 vacancies for physics teachers, not a single young specialist was hired.
Moldova’s education system needs treatment, not cuts
Moldova’s education system is seriously ill. But instead of treating it, PAS is cutting into it while it is still alive. Closing schools may look tidy in ministry reports. On the ground, however, it means emptier villages, weaker communities and fewer reasons for young families to stay.
