Moldova's Education Ministry proposes changes to Education Code

The Ministry of Education and Research (MEC) has proposed more changes to the Education Code. These amendments focus on new educational opportunities for children returning from the Diaspora, the integration of children with disabilities into the educational system, the reintroduction of marks in the 4th grade, compensation for educational materials and the expansion of categories of young specialists eligible for allowances at employment. Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun today unveiled measures to this effect at a news conference.

According to the official, the national educational system will provide linguistic integration and adaptation programmes for children returning from the Diaspora.

“I am pleased that, in recent years, we have seen an increasing number of citizens returning to schools of Moldova, whose children need support to facilitate the integration process. Many families do not have a very advanced knowledge of the Romanian language, and therefore when they return, they need additional support. By amending the Education Code, the state and our educational system will be able to invest resources, so that such linguistic integration programmes become a reality. After these changes, schools will offer these extra lessons to children,” Dan Perciun said.

The second and third changes concern the integration of children with disabilities into the educational system. This involves creating support groups in schools and integrating them into educational institutions up to the 12th grade.

“In all the educational institutions I have visited, the topic of inclusion is intensely discussed, and we must admit we have a lot of work ahead for integrating children with severe mental disabilities to become a reality. Therefore, we ruled to introduce a new approach by creating support groups for children with severe intellectual disabilities in our general educational institutions. These groups will have no more than six children, who will work separately with two adults. The children will continue being part of traditional classes. Their constant presence in a class of 40 pupils does not, in our view, reflect their real needs; thus, we believe they require increased support, in small groups, with special attention, so we can genuinely talk about real inclusion. This is not a new idea; it is a concept implemented in many European countries. Another change involves our special auxiliary schools. We still have five such educational institutions in the country; yet. children after the 9th grade cannot continue their studies in these educational institutions. Some have the necessary level and can go to a vocational school, but the reality is that, due to severe mental disabilities, after the 9th grade, many no longer have options to continue their educational path. Therefore, this year, we decided to allow them to stay on until the 10th grade, up to the 12th grade, in order to extend their educational path, but we have done this as a pilot scheme. It is a provision aimed at these families to benefit from state support until the age of 18 years,” said Dan Perciun.

The changes proposed by MEC also suggest reintroducing marks starting September 1st, 2026, in the 4th grade for exam subjects, such as Romanian language and mathematics. Over the past ten years, primary school teachers used a system of descriptors (“excellent,” “very good,” etc.).

“This year, MEC is already piloting the reintroduction of grading in the 4th form in more schools that volunteered to participate in this process. A study conducted last year in 268 schools shows that the abrupt transition to the grading system in middle school creates stress and adaptation challenges for pupils. Gradual introduction of marks aims to prepare children for this transition. Once modifications to the Code are made, and based on the results of the pilot, MEC will decide on returning to grading for all schools in the country starting September 2026,” noted Dan Perciun.

Another amendment concerns the regulation of the profession of head coach and senior coach. The current Education Code does not include notions already used in salary legislation and the Sports Law. This omission creates integration and remuneration difficulties, particularly at the National Sports Training Center. The new version of the law will officially recognize the duties of “head coach” and “senior coach,” removing the present administrative inconsistencies.

Additionally, it is proposed that the support amounting to 4,000 lei allocated for teaching materials also be provided to teachers in vocational technical education. Presently, this support is available only to teachers in general education. After the Education Code amendments are approved, about 3,600 teachers in colleges and vocational schools will benefit from these payments.

Also, Minister Dan Perciun informed that the employment incentive for young specialists would be extended to university and technical education levels.

“The draft proposed by MEC envisages granting an incentive of 200,000 lei upon entry into the workforce for young teachers and researchers who choose to work in professional technical education, university education and research. Until now, this facility has been available only to those employed in general education. In the 2025-2026 academic year, 100 beginner staff was employed in higher education, and 20 in technical vocational education,” highlighted Dan Perciun.

Another proposal is granting financial autonomy to schools with over 400 pupils. Thus, the amendments to the Code provide that, starting from January 1, 2027, schools with over 400 pupils will manage their budgets independently.

“Currently, 939 schools already plan and spend financial resources. Another 172 schools are financially managed by the accounting offices of local authorities. Out of these 172 schools, 47 have over 400 pupils — 35 in Chișinău and 12 in Balti. Transitioning from a model where budgets are centrally managed to one where schools independently administer funds brings more essential advantages. Financial autonomy allows institutions to intervene immediately where needed: urgent repairs, minimal facilities, necessary employment. Directors no longer depend on lengthy bureaucratic procedures and students benefit faster from better conditions. At the same time, autonomous schools can initiate new educational programmes, establish partnerships and manage their revenues. This model provides institutions with the freedom to develop modern projects — from STEM classes to artistic and sports activities — without the constraints of a rigid budget managed centrally,” said Dan Perciun.

Another proposal concerns the de jure termination of indefinite contracts for deputy headmasters in general education. Thus, the draft on amendment of the Education Code introduces clear criteria for terminating the indefinite contracts of deputy directors and the obligation to conduct public competitions for these positions.

“Currently, almost 39% of deputies hold the position indefinitely, and another 27% are in interim positions. Moreover, there are cases where the interim division exceeds 10–15 years. The obligation to hold the position of deputy director through competition has existed since 2014, with the adoption of the Education Code. In reality, this provision was applied selectively, with a significant portion of deputy directors continuing working based on indefinite contracts signed before the code came into effect,” noted the Education and Research Minister.

This also announced a change which sees MEC’s involvement in the Strategic Development Councils of universities. Another amendment concerns the inclusion of MEC representatives in the Strategic Development Councils of higher educational institutions.

The final proposal aims at ensuring access to quality education, strengthening the school network and more support measures for students and teaching staff.

“One of the proposed reforms concerns strengthening the school network. The main goal is to enhance the quality of studies and harness the human potential of  Moldova. Currently, 91 schools — almost one in ten — have fewer than 50 pupils, and 247 schools — one in five — have fewer than 90 students. Teachers in these schools often have to teach multiple subjects, including in areas outside their specialization, and the infrastructure is modest, lacking modern laboratories and extracurricular activities. These challenges clearly reflect in pupils’ results. In 2025, the average exam grade for schools with less than 30 pupils in middle school was 5.77, while in large schools with over 600 students, the average exceeded 7.1. The difference persists across all exam subjects: math, history, Romanian language and literature,” Dan Perciun also said.

Thus, it is proposed to reorganize institutions with less than 35 pupils in middle school into primary schools, reorganize those with fewer than 30 pupils into primary school-kindergartens, and transform primary school-kindergartens with fewer than 10 pupils into kindergartens. The reform might impact approximately 1,328 pupils in total — less than 0.5 per cent of the over 330,000 pupils of Moldova. Based on the proposed criteria, 73 schools would be reorganized, 10 of which could become kindergartens, 43 - primary schools, and 17 - primary school-kindergartens. The number of schools affected represents approximately 6 per cent of the total number of the country’s public school institutions.

In most cases, the reform targets 1-2 institutions per district, except for a few districts in the northern part of the country. Seventy six per cent of pupils from schools to be reorganized will move less than 10 km to the new school, and only 7 per cent or 87 students will have to move more than 15 km.

School transport will be free and parents of pupils who will be transferred to other institutions will receive a monthly allowance of 1,000 lei during two academic years. Teaching staff affected by the reorganization will receive support through professional reconversion, relocation and transportation cost coverage. Teachers unable to find employment in the district will benefit from a relocation allowance of up to 300,000 lei towards employment in another district. The eligibility criteria and procedure for granting this allowance will be regulated later by the government.

Over the next two months, the proposals to the Education Code will be subject to public consultations, expecting to be approved by February 2026 at the earliest.