School in Moldova

The Ministry of Education and Research (MEC) sets national policy, standards, curricula and annual school plans. Schools and local education departments in municipalities and raions administer daily operations; a raion is a district-level local administration. Parliament adopted the Restart în educație reform in its second reading on 3 September 2026, including planned Territorial Education Agencies for school networks, principals, quality, infrastructure, transport and inclusion. The transfer of responsibilities and the effective start of these agencies still require verification. Early education includes antepreșcolar provision for children up to three years and preșcolar provision from age three. Primary school covers grades 1 to 4, gymnasium covers grades 5 to 9 and lyceum covers grades 10 to 12. Moldova also has combined school-kindergartens, primary schools, gymnasia, lyceums, special and residential institutions, and some evening forms. In the 2024/25 school year, the country had 1,185 primary and general-secondary institutions: 88 primary schools, 752 gymnasia, 337 lyceums, 6 special schools and 2 evening institutions. About 97.9% were public, serving approximately 335,100 pupils; 872 institutions were rural and 313 were urban. Schooling becomes compulsory after age seven, and general education through grade 9 is compulsory. Grade 1 admission normally concerns children who are seven by the start of the school year. A child under seven may be admitted after a parent or guardian requests it and psychosomatic maturity is confirmed. Admission usually follows the school district linked to the child's residence. For the 2026/27 school year, the first admission stage ran from 1 April to 18 May 2026 for children aged seven by the start of school; the second stage ran from 19 May to 10 June 2026 for remaining places, children turning seven between 1 September and 31 December 2026, and applications from other districts. Calendars and required documents can change by year, so the school or local education department confirms the current procedure. The state-financed package covers early, primary, gymnasium and lyceum education in the public system. Private institutions set their own tuition and additional charges. Families may also need to plan for supplies, meals, transport and extracurricular activities, depending on the school and locality. Free meals were extended to grades 5 to 9 in 2025 alongside primary education, and a reported one-time school-start payment of MDL 1,000 covered grades 1 to 9; current eligibility and funding should be checked before relying on either measure. Romanian is the state and dominant language of instruction. In 2024/25, instruction was approximately 80.9% in Romanian, 19.0% in Russian and 0.1% in English. Bulgarian, Gagauz and Ukrainian subjects or classes are available where a locality or institution offers them. Language provision is therefore determined by the school and local demand, while language learning itself belongs to a separate topic. The national curriculum and annual framework plan set the required subjects and structure for public and private schools. Primary pupils take national tests, gymnasium pupils take national graduation examinations and lyceum pupils take the national Baccalaureate. Lyceums may offer real, humanist, arts or sports profiles. The 2026 Baccalaureate examination period was scheduled for 2 to 19 June 2026; examination dates and rules are year-specific. Inclusive education is formally available in mainstream schools. School commissions and resource centres can prepare individual educational plans and adaptations, while local psycho-pedagogical assistance services assess needs and recommend support. Special schools remain an option. In 2024/25, about 10,600 pupils with special educational needs or disabilities attended ordinary schools and about 500 attended six special schools. Severe-disability inclusion units and mobile teams were expanding, but the support available depends on local capacity. Children have rights to equal access, non-discrimination, a safe learning environment and education support for special educational needs. School rules regulate conduct and participation, and parents or guardians cooperate with attendance and education duties. Transport, textbooks, social assistance and after-school provision depend on the locality or programme. Refugee and returning children may use simplified enrolment and document procedures, placement support, Romanian-language assistance, curriculum bridging and psycho-pedagogical support; foreign online schooling should not be assumed to replace Moldovan attendance without confirmation. After grade 4, pupils move to grade 5. After grade 9, a pupil receives a certificate and may continue in a lyceum or choose an adjacent vocational pathway. Lyceum completion and the Baccalaureate open pathways toward further vocational or tertiary education. The suitable pathway depends on the pupil's results, goals, available places and the admission rules applying that year.