Chișinău kindergarten registration lacks transparency, frustrates parents
The registration of children in kindergartens in Chișinău is a complicated and non-transparent process, asserts Ala Revenco, the founder of the "Părinți Solidari" (Solidarity parents) Association.
The registration process takes place in two stages. The first stage, occurring in May-June, involves submitting a request through the online portal E-gradinita for children from the nearby district. The second stage, in August, requires a face-to-face meeting with the administration, during which the parent must present the child’s prepared file.
Theoretically, this system should secure places for all children in the area; however, in reality, parents often encounter difficulties, especially during the second phase, concludes Ala Revenco.
"The enrollment procedure is not strictly regulated," she explains. "Some call parents to come, while others simply post the announcement on the door—there is no standardised method that leaves a record in the system to show that the parent was invited to submit the documents or that the discussion with the director occurred. Therefore, the order established by those registered through the E-gradinita system loses its validity."
She continues, "If, as a parent, I am unaware that the enrollment period has begun, or if the director calls someone before I arrive, that person secures the first spot, and I find that no places are left. Therefore, the position in line no longer holds any meaning in this case."
As a result, Revenco argues, many parents are not properly informed and encounter a lack of clear communication with the preschool administration. The final decisions are not made through an accountable electronic system, as they are in the first phase when requests are submitted.
The lack of transparency during the file approval stage, Revenco notes, prevents parents from verifying the accuracy of the analysis and monitoring the progress and status of their initial request. This leaves them uncertain, and they are unable to challenge rejected requests.
Valentin Crudu, head of the Institutional Management Section within the General Directorate of Education Chișinău, clarifies that "all registrations and acceptances on the E-gradinita portal are handled by the director of the relevant preschool in a continuous manner." He further explains, "All notifications and confirmations arrive in the parent's personal account on the E-gradinita portal. When the director processes the request, creates new groups, and indicates available spots—all of this can be monitored remotely, including whether the children have been admitted according to the order of request submission. Usually, you receive an email in your personal account informing you whether the child has been enrolled, along with a request for any additional necessary documents.
There are cases, Crudu adds, "where parents do not show up at the kindergarten within the period indicated in the notification. In such instances, the institution has the right to select the next applicant. If the admission request is rejected, the reason can only be verified on-site at the kindergarten, as indicated in the minutes prepared by the admission commission, which usually operates on Tuesdays and Fridays. This is because document processing at this stage is done solely on paper."
This year, approximately 9,811 new requests have been registered through the E-gradinita system, of which 7,113 have been accepted. To date, a total of 1,575 children have been enrolled. Since the introduction of the E-gradinita system in 2017, a total of 109,821 online requests have been registered through the portal, with 82,892 of these being accepted.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
