The National Library of Moldova staged an exhibition entitled “Bessarabian education in historical retrospect” in a move to illustrate the evolution of Bessarabian education in ten thematic chapters. The exhibit contains about 100 documents in the Romanian and Russian languages, such as monographs, magazines, postcards, vignettes and doctor’s theses.

Contacted by IPN for details, Veronica Cosovan, head of the Library’s “Old and Rare Book” Division, said the idea of mounting such an exhibition appeared after examining the valuable old book stock of the Division. “We identified a rich stock of documentary materials that refer to the history of the Bessarabian education, including the first lyceums founded in Chisinau starting with 1813, vocational education, textbooks at the first school libraries used by students, teacher magazines that existed in time, being published and edited by the teaching staff and the community of students. The materials about the history of education, the scientific and historiographical approaches also valuable on the whole,” stated Veronica Cosovan.

She believes it is very important that the people in Moldova know how education developed. “In particular historical periods, Bessarabia’s territory was always under domination and they taught either in Romanian or in Russian in schools. The teachers not always were natives, but the school didn’t lose its nationality even if these came from abroad. The Romanian language was studied. They printed special primers for teaching the Romanian language and literature and magazines,” stated Veronica Cosovan.

According to her, after visiting this exhibition, the students, parents and teachers will look at the current education process in a different way. Given the pandemic, each visitor should wear a mask and gloves and should maintain social distancing. They will have their temperature measured before going in.

Through the agency of this exhibition, the employees of the “Old and Rare Book” Division aimed to revive a fragment of the previous school atmosphere by textbooks, classes of graduates of the first schools opened in Chisinau at the end of the 19th century, teacher magazines, books from the collections of former school libraries and studies carried out by teachers at the end of the 19th century.

The exhibition can be visited until October 31, 2020.