Republic of Moldova

• Country Profile (source: FTI 2010 Annual Report Data)
• Implementation Status and Results Report (source: World Bank)
• Ministry of Education
• The coordinating agency is UNICEF
• The FTI Focal Point is Kouassi Soman

Endorsement Documents

• Consolidated Action Plan for the Education Sector 2006-2008 (October 2005)
• Appraisal of the Education Sector Plan 2006-2008
• Country Level Process: Summary Country Milestones 2010-12

Key Resources

• FACT SHEET: EFA FTI and the Early Childhood Development Program in Moldova
• Poverty Reduction Strategy (May 2004)

ROMA CHILDREN, BETWEEN FREEDOM IN THE STREET AND KINDERGARTEN

by Aurelia Guzun

Ion and his friends in his new classroom
Photo credits: Aurelia Guzun

NISPORENI, Moldova, 24 April 2009
Ion (2.5 years old) and Daniel (6 years old) are two Roma children, who were born and are living in the poorest neighbourhood of Nisporeni town. They are from a mixed family: their mother is Moldovan and the father is Roma. Ion and Daniel have other four siblings. All six children are living with their grandparents on the mother's side, as their parents left for Moscow in search for employment. Their father was sentenced for a crime there and is serving his punishment in a prison. The mother is working illegally to maintain her children. She has various occasional jobs: in constructions, housekeeping, and other areas. She earns very little, but sends everything back home, as in Moldova the small pension of grandparents is the only source of existence of her children.

The six Roma children and their grandparents are living in an old house, which is falling apart. They don't have enough money, so to earn some more the grandfather repairs bicycles and motorcycles. The grandmother, thin and short, barely manages to cook and do the laundry for eight people.

The grandparent's house has long ago become too small for Ion and Daniel. Therefore the boys spend most of their time in the street. But the street is both charming and dangerous. The grandparents are well aware of this, but they can neither lock them inside the house, nor offer them so many interesting and captivating things as the street does.

The choice between street and education

"I always wanted my grandchildren to study", says the grandmother. "To go to the kindergarten, then to school. But there were not any free places in the kindergarten that is why we keep our boys at home. But at home we cannot prepare them for school".

The grandmother is right to worry about this. According to the "Roma People in the Republic of Moldova" study (UNDP Moldova, 2007), three out of ten Roma children do not go to the first form and miss the primary school. According to the same study, the non-inclusion in the educational system and the school dropout (for children of 6 years and older) are caused, inter alia, by the high costs of education, health problems and the big distance to the school. Besides, there are also the parents' preconceptions, who believe that children don't need education or that they should start working with their parents at a very young age, frequently being involved in begging.

Ion and Daniel go to the kindergarten

One year ago the grandmother took the boys to the kindergarten from their neighbourhood. One of the seven blocks of the kindergarten had been recently repaired. Thus, places for other 60 children were created, half of whom were from socially vulnerable families and children with special needs. This was possible thanks to Education for All - Fast Track Initiative (EFA - FTI) Project, implemented by the Ministry of Education and Youth with the support of the Catalytic Fund, World Bank and UNICEF.

The Local Public Authorities exempted this family from the fee for kindergarten and nutrition. Ion and Daniel say they like the kindergarten, because here they "can have meat and milk". But not only for that.

"It is interesting here, there are toys and books. We read, draw, play and practice sports. I want to train myself and become the strongest", says Daniel who attends the pre-school group. Under the EFA - FTI Project the two groups were provided with toys, books, furniture, sports equipment and a playground. The didactic staff benefit of ongoing training on child-centred methodologies, new policy documents including the newly-developed Curriculum, the Guidelines for Didactic Staff, the Learning and Development Standards for Children and Professional Standards for Educators as well as innovative didactic materials inclusive of marginalized groups.

A sustainable change of behaviour for the benefit of children

"Our biggest victory is that the boys come to the kindergarten on a daily basis, that the mother doesn't take them with her to Moscow", says Tatiana Cociu, headmaster of "Povestea" kindergarten no 1 of Nisporeni.

"Initially it was very difficult for the boys to accommodate themselves to the kindergarten", remembers the headmaster. "They had an acute need for freedom. They refused to get involved in various activities, wanted to escape back to the street. Ion, the youngest, had cried for several months till he accommodated himself". And Daniel says he would like to have a car with wings, which would help him to protect his house, for nobody to be able to throw stones into it.

Both boys were born with an eye disorder, called Convergent Stabismus. Moreover, they are weak and sick. They always need recognition and encouragement, say educators.

Actually, the boys have special educational needs, which are appropriately met at the district kindergarten from their native town. This was their chance to get integrated.

Now Ion and Daniel go to the kindergarten on a daily basis. The exemption from fees, favourable environment in the kindergarten, higher attention from the community leaders - all these supported their grandparents' efforts of integrating the children in early education programmes.