The setting of mandatory payments for students of primary and secondary education institutions, including for school textbooks, which are an essential element in the training process, runs counter to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the Constitutional Court.
MPs Vladimir Odnostalko and Vasile Bolea asked the Court to pronounce on the Education Code’s article stipulating that the fifth-twelfth graders are provided with textbooks according to the rental scheme approved by the Ministry of Education.
The rental for each title of school textbook is annually approved by the Ministry. For the 2016-2017 school year, the parents paid 50 to 80 lei per textbook.
The Constitutional Court’s president Alexandru Tanase said the MPs’ request was partially accepted. The Coot decided that the provision concerning the collection of mandatory payment for textbooks from fifth-ninth graders is unconstitutional and runs counter to Article 35 of the Constitution “Right to education”.
Thus, Moldova’s Parliament is to amend the Education Code in accordance with the Court’s recommendations.
