The World Bank has announced an extra USD 1 million for the ongoing program to support education in rural parts of the Republic of Moldova. The extra financing for the Quality Education in Rural Areas of Moldova Project will help the Moldovan Government implement education reforms. “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.” said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Manager for Moldova. Seck sees improvements in education as vital for improving Moldova's competitiveness and attracting investment.

The overall project objective is increase access to, and quality of, education in Moldova. The extra funds announced will be put to use providing technical assistance and helping in the process of assessing Moldova's education system by international bodies. So far, the program has given to training to all 35,000 Moldovan teachers and provided impressive quantities of teaching resources and text books to schools. Equipment and materials have been provided for 1,200 Moldovan schools and 80 percent of the country's high schools have received support in upgrading science labs. The World Bank has also helped in setting up bus transport to school for students. The pilot scheme, which at present transports 3,000 students in 11 districts, is to be scaled up at an undisclosed date. The program also gives advice and assistance for the financial management of schools.

Since joining the World Bank in 1992, USD 880 million has been allocated to 42 operations in Moldova. At the moment there are 11 active projects with total commitments of USD 281 million. Areas of support include education, social assistance, e-governance, healthcare, energy, agriculture, business development, and others.

Moldova receives some support from the EU via a variety of programs for neighboring states, however, at present it is neither a candidate, nor a potential candidate country.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com