One of the problems faced by the higher education establishments of Moldova is the too low tuition as the 7,000-8,000 lei paid for a one-year contract is enough only for the daily needs of a student, not yet for ensuring the quality of studies, candidate for premiership Ion Sturza said in a meeting with representatives of the Education and Science Trade Union Federation, IPN reports.

“Nobody can convince me that a student can be maintained on a contract of 7,000 lei when there must be covered the costs for education, power, hot water, etc. We must be aware that we will not be able to ensure studies of a high quality if this injurious economic policy of 2004 is continued and the tuition is maintained at the same level,” stated Ion Sturza.

He considers the school should be a social elevator for those who work, while for those who learn should be a possibility of building a career. According to Sturza, in Moldova 8% of the GDP is allocated for education, which is two times more than in some of the developed countries. “This does not yet mean that the education sector in our country is two times more developed,” he said.

The candidate said the education institutions should teach the students life skills and the education programs and curricula should be well thought out. “Regretfully, in Moldova we started to challenge the teacher. We lost respect for teachers. We must have an authentic student assessment system. But the students should realize that education is work, not distraction. We must teach the children to work. There is no other variant,” stated Ion Sturza.

Earlier today, the candidate had a meeting with representatives and members of business associations. On December 30, he is to meet with representatives of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova and farmers’ associations.