Republic of Moldova

Capital: Chişinău
Area: 33,843.5 km2
Population: approx. 2,6 million
Official Language: Romanian

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Government   
Ministry of Education and Research
National Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance

Chişinău

The OeAD cooperation office in Chişinău has been in existence since November 2003. Together with the Moldovan Ministry of Education and local organisations it carries out projects in Moldova to improve the quality of vocational education and to strengthen inclusive education in the Republic of Moldova. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in the spring of 2022 the OeAD Cooperation Office has also been involved in psychosocial support for refugee children and their integration into everyday school life.

Key focuses:

• Inclusive education
• Vocational education and training
• Support of the integration of Ukrainian children/teenagers at schools

Examples:

I-VET – INCLUSIVE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
(Duration: 2018-2023)

Inclusive education is firmly rooted in the strategies and national legislation of the Republic of Moldova. To support the implementation of the strategic directions in the field of inclusive education institutional support structures have been created in the last few years, most notably the Psycho-Pedagogical Support Centres (SAPs), which operate in each district and support schools of general education in the implementation of inclusive education. The I-VET project goes one step further and supports the Moldovan Ministry of Education in the introduction of inclusive vocational education and training and the development of the corresponding legal framework. Nine pilot schools tested promising approaches to inclusive vocational education and training and their feasibility. These schools now have the necessary competences to plan and implement an inclusive educational process. Furthermore, the development of the legal framework has been supported in close cooperation with all relevant stakeholders. Not only have clear regulations been created for the transition from general education to vocational education and training but methodological and didactic principles have also been embedded in law and the possibility of individualising curricula and vocational education and training with partial qualification has been created. School psychologists at seven Centres of Excellence have been trained to become trainers in inclusive education and empowered to provide further training for all vocational education and training institutions. In the current project phase the SAPs and their coordinating national office in their role as a support structure will be equipped with the necessary professional skills and tools to advise and accompany schools of vocational education and training, teachers, students and parents at the transition to and during vocational education and training.

Direct target group:

• Ministry of Education and Research, Department for vocational education and training (5 persons)
• All 89 vocational schools and colleges, including teaching staff and headmasters/headmistresses teams
• 35 Regional Psycho-Pedagogical Support Centres (60 persons)
• National Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance (5 persons)
• School psychologists and support teachers at 7 CoE (20 persons)
• Labour market service in all 35 regions (70 persons)

Indirect target group:

• 819 young people with SEN at all 89 vocational training institutes in the Republic of Moldova in the school year 2021/2022

 

MFC – MANAGEMENT FOR CHANGE
(Duration: 2020-2023)

The government resolution on the financial and economic autonomy of vocational education and training institutions of 1 October 2018 opens up new scope for the school management of vocational education and training schools such as generation of income and autonomous management of resources. However, the freedom thus created also presents the school management with new challenges. Processes that were previously regulated by the state now require effective and targeted management to be able to fully exploit the school's potential and enable quality school development. The project “MFC – Management for Change” therefore aims to develop a further education programme for VET management teams in cooperation with experts from the University College of Teacher Education Lower Austria that addresses the current needs and challenges of the vocational education and training institutions and strengthens them in their work. Three Moldovan Centers of Excellence are to be trained in leadership, change management and quality assurance. An accompanying toolbox with practical and theoretical elements complements the offer.

Direct target group:

• 3 Centers of Excellence (construction, food processing, economy), 4 persons each

COOP-NET – COOPERATION NETWORKS OF THE MOLDOVAN CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE
(Duration: 2021-2023)

Vocational education and training to improve labour market opportunities for young people is a priority for the development of the Republic of Moldova. With international support, also from the OeAD, legal frameworks have been created in the last few years that have initiated reform processes in the VET sector. A key measure in the reform of the vocational education and training sector was the creation of the Centres of Excellence in 2015. Eleven of these centres (former colleges and vocational schools) now assume a leadership role in their field. They are responsible e.g. for coordinating the activities of the vocational education and training institutions assigned to them, providing them with methodological support and providing further training for staff. Furthermore, they are responsible for cooperation with the business sector and the strategic planning and management of the income-generating activities of vocational schools in their sector. The implementation of the broad portfolio poses a great challenge to the Centers of Excellence. The project “COOP-NET – Cooperation Networks of Moldovan Centers of Excellence” therefore aims, in cooperation with the University College of Teacher Education Styria, to strengthen the Centers of Excellence in their leadership role and to support them in the implementation of the responsibilities that come with it by building an effective cooperation network between the Centers of Excellence and the vocational education and training institutions assigned to them. An active and effective cooperation network is to strengthen the entire Moldovan vocational education and training system.

Direct target groups: 

• 12 Centers of Excellence (3 persons/institution)
• Management teams of all 89 vocational education and training institutions (5 persons/institution)

Indirect target groups: 

• Students at all 89 vocational education and training institutions (45,998 persons, 2021/2022)
   

PACE – PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT FOR UKRAINIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN
(Duration: 2022-2023)

Due to the war in Ukraine and the movement of refugees that has come with it the Republic of Moldova has been faced with the management of a major task. While many families were only passing through more than 100,000 people, mainly women and children, have also remained in the country. This corresponds to about 4% of the Moldovan population. More than half of the people in this group are children and teenagers. The PACE I project therefore aims to quickly provide psychosocial support for children and young people who have experienced flight. Volunteers and psychologists within and outside the school system who are involved in refugee assistance are trained in crisis intervention and trauma management in a series of online seminars. Moreover, materials on these topics were translated into Romanian in cooperation with HEMAYAT, the Austrian care centre for survivors of torture and war, which are made available to the target group online and in print. A book and six booklets provide theoretical background and practical exercises on coping with trauma and are intended to support the volunteers and psychologists in their work with refugee children and young people. Moreover, a group of 22 female staff members of the psychosocial assistance centres will be trained to become trainers in the field of “Psychosocial support for children and young people with experience of flight and war”. In a next step they will provide further training for all 492 school psychologists in the Republic of Moldova.

Direct target groups: 

• Volunteers and psychologists within and outside the school system | approx. 350 persons
• Trainers of the National Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance national and the Regional Psycho-Pedagogical Support Centres | 20 persons
• 492 School psychologists in the Republic of Moldova (as at: June 2022)

Indirect target groups: 

• 41,629 underage refugees (as at: June 2022)