Moldova Education Minister denies exam camera claims
Dan Perciun, the Minister of Education, is refuting accusations made by Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban that his ministry ordered the installation of video cameras for gymnasium graduation exams.
The official has called these statements "lies and falsification," asserting that the decision belongs to a specialized commission subordinate to the Chisinau Municipal Education Department.
"The Ministry of Education did not request the use of video cameras for ninth-grade exams. During the exams, we only have external assistants who will be present in the classroom to ensure the smooth running of the process. However, it now appears that the specialized examination commission, which is subordinate to the municipal department, decided in March to use them. This decision surprised us," Dan Perciun stated.
The Minister suggests there might be financial interests behind the camera acquisition and has urged investigative journalists to examine the company involved in equipping educational institutions.
"It's a single company that has been contracted by several sector departments through low-value procurements. I believe this is the interest behind the municipal commission's initiative to buy some video cameras under the guise of the fight for integrity. This is truly the underlying issue, and this needs to be investigated by investigative journalists, but we will also make a request out of curiosity to see how many were purchased, where they were installed, and at what price," Perciun added.
The Minister's reaction follows Mayor Ion Ceban's accusation on Monday, during a Chisinau City Hall meeting, that the Ministry of Education had initiated the installation of video cameras for ninth-grade exams. "Video cameras should not be installed in ninth-grade exam classrooms, as the Ministry of Education previously requested. Don't stress the children with your overnight ideas. I believe teachers have the capacity to monitor, and children are prepared to cope," the Chisinau mayor remarked.
The graduation exam for ninth-grade students will take place from June 2-12.
Last year, Dan Perciun announced that ninth-grade students would take their exams at special centers, following the Baccalaureate model.
Furthermore, in 2023, Education Minister Dan Perciun stated that the initiative to install cameras aimed to exclude potential fraud. According to the official, gymnasium exams typically yield the highest scores, and cases of copying are also documented.
The Minister also previously mentioned that the Ministry of Education would send volunteers to monitor the ninth-grade examination process in several educational institutions across eight Moldovan districts.
It should be noted that this year, the "Be HONEST, don't copy!" campaign is expanding nationwide. Over 1,000 observers from the Ministry of Education and the National Agency for Curriculum and Evaluation will monitor gymnasium graduation exams in all institutions across the country. Last year, during the campaign's first edition, monitors were present in institutions in eight districts.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
