Restart in Education concept, new governance model for schools of Moldova

Education and Research Minister Dan Perciun today announced a new concept for reform in the field of education, titled Restart in Education, which provides for changing the way schools are administered and creating territorial agencies subordinated to the competent ministry. The reform also includes salary increases and targets three major goals: better alignment between the policies set by the Ministry and their implementation in schools, strengthening the institutional capacity of local education departments and depoliticizing decision-making at the local level. The new model for administering institutions might be implemented as early as in 2027.

The minister specified that the reform aimed to modernize the governance of the education system and reduce inequalities between districts in terms of access to quality education.





 

“Today, we are analyzing this reform, its objectives and the changes it will bring for schools, for local education departments, for students and for parents. We are talking about a system transformation that we generically call ‘Restart in Education’, a reform that targets first and foremost the way education is administered in Moldova,” said Education Minister Dan Perciun.

The official noted that the current organizational model generates significant differences between districts and affects the uniformity of education quality.

“Today, we have a system in which pupils’ performance differs considerably from one district to another and these differences are visible already in primary grades and continue up to national examinations. In some cases, we are not talking about differences between children, but about differences in the way the education system itself works,” Perciun said.

He emphasized that one of the structural problems was the fragmentation of responsibilities between the various levels of education administration.

Dan Perciun says that the new model will create a direct link between central decision-making and implementation in schools.





“Through this reform, we aim to create a much clearer link between the Education’s policies and what actually happens in schools. Today, this link is sometimes diluted by the existing organizational model. We want clear accountability, a shorter decision-making chain and more coherent implementation of public policies,” Perciun noted.

The education minister also said that the new territorial agencies would have the role of professionalizing school administration and reducing external influences in the decision-making process.

“We propose the creation of territorial agencies for education, subordinated to the Education Ministry, which will take over the administration of schools. These structures will be responsible for managing the schools’ network, human resources, the evaluation of principals and monitoring education quality. Essentially, they will become the operational link between policy and the school. We want a system in which decisions regarding schools are made based on data, professional criteria and the best interests of the child, not on local political considerations. At present, there are still situations where decisions are influenced by factors that are not directly related to education,” Perciun said.

The official pointed out that the benefits of the reform would be felt by all categories involved in the system.

“For students, the objective is equal access to quality education, regardless of settlement. For parents, there will be greater clarity regarding the responsibilities of institutions. For teachers, the reform must bring more methodological support. For principals, a clearer structure of subordination. And for administrative staff, salary increases as well, which will help attract better-trained specialists into the system,” the minister said.

The Territorial Agencies for Education will administer the schools’ network, be responsible for the selection and evaluation of principals, monitor education quality, manage infrastructure and school transportation, as well as implement measures related to inclusion, school safety and the digitalization of administrative processes. Early education and extracurricular education will stay under the responsibility of local public authorities.

According to the Education Ministry, the reform draft will be subject to public consultations during June 2026, after which it will be submitted to parliament. The implementation of the new structure is expected to start in the second half of 2026, with the system becoming fully operational as of January 1, 2027.