Washington, March 20, 2012 — The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an additional financing of US$ 1 million for the Quality Education in Rural Areas of Moldova Project, which aims to support the successful implementation of Government of Moldova’s education reform agenda.
“Moldova’s success in the long-run lies in its young generation,” said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Manager for Moldova. “This generation can make the country prosperous and successful only if it benefits from the skills and quality education that their peers in Berlin, Bucharest, or Warsaw are enjoying. A better educated workforce will help Moldova position itself as a desirable place for investments, job creation, a thriving business environment, which would in turn help raise the standards and quality of life for Moldova’s citizens.”
The additional financing will focus on technical assistance which will facilitate the development of standards for hub schools, development of a new teacher remuneration scheme, capacity building, and training on the implementation of the new financing formula in education, supporting Moldova’s participation in international assessments and other important areas of reform. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the country’s efforts to increase access to, quality of, and equity in the school system, and make efficient use of resources allocated in the sector.
To date, the ongoing Quality Education in Rural Areas of Moldova Project has trained the full corps of school teachers, numbering 35,000 people, on strengthening the quality of teaching outcome, including printing of over 300 thousand new manuals, teaching guides, and other educational materials. Almost 1,200 Moldovan schools have benefited from equipment and teaching materials, of which 300 high-schools, or 80 percent of the country’s total, have seen their physics, biology and chemistry labs upgraded. Over 3,000 students are currently benefiting from bus transportation to their hub schools in 11 rayons (counties) of Moldova, as part of a World Bank-supported pilot that is being scaled-up across the country. The project has provided training on the implementation of a new per capita student financing model, including financial management for school principals and administrators.
Since Moldova joined the World Bank in 1992, a total of US$ 880 million have been allocated to 42 operations in the country. Currently, the World Bank portfolio includes 11 active projects with total commitments of US$ 281 million. Areas of support include education, social assistance, e-governance, healthcare, energy, agriculture, business development, and others.
