State budget secures teacher pay amid artificial crisis claims
The Ministry of Finance approved the allocation of 123 million lei out of the 209 million requested by Chișinău City Hall.
After discussions with representatives from the Ministry of Education and City Hall, it was decided to allocate an additional 86 million lei from the state budget, on top of the 37 million lei already included in the budget rectification plan.
As a result of these discussions, City Hall identified 86 million lei in savings from other budgetary items, which can be quickly reallocated to cover salary payments. These funds will fully cover the salaries and bonuses of educational staff until the end of this year.
“It was decided to allocate an additional 86 million lei from the state budget, despite the City Hall’s ability to reallocate more than the identified amount for salaries. However, considering the administrative and staffing constraints currently faced by City Hall, which make it technically challenging to redistribute larger sums, the additional resources from the state budget were approved,” stated a press release from the Ministry of Education.
During City Hall’s operational meeting on Monday, Andrei Pavaloi, Deputy Head of the Education Department, stated that about 7,000 employees in the capital’s educational institutions risk being left without salaries and bonuses ahead of the winter holidays due to the budget deficit. Redirecting funds from other expenditure areas was deemed problematic.
Dan Perciun, the Minister of Education and Research (MEC), assured that all employees in Chișinău’s educational system would receive their salaries on time, emphasising that there was no cause for concern. According to the minister, representatives of Chișinău City Hall intentionally fabricated a crisis by disseminating speculation and false claims, suggesting that teachers and educators in the capital might not receive their salaries and bonuses before the holidays due to the government allegedly failing to transfer funds to the municipality.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
