specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

CHAPTER I
interviewed children too: “To have decent clothing so that we would not feel
ashamed to go to school” (FG_C_1_urban); “For windows, for reparation. It
was so beautiful when they hang the curtains for the first time” (III_C_12).
The situation is more difficult when the remittances are very little or are not
forthcoming at all.
As an example we can take the case of an old woman aged 62 who takes
care of her two grandsons and where the support from abroad is very
modest: “The boys are already going to the high school, and I have to pay
for it. I wrote a Demand to the high school saying that I cannot pay for their
education. Sometimes I also need to give money for presents for teachers and
when I have it I give it, when I don’t… I don’t.” In the same context, the old
woman says that students with a poor financial situation are treated differently
by their teacher: “If you are not like everybody they notice that. They
needed 30 lei each for making New Year presents for their teacher. I had to
find some money, it’s only once a year but I don’t give it every time, because I
don’t have so much” (III_E_12).
The collected data unveiled aspects related to more difficult conditions
of organizing the educational process and preparing the child for life:
“Because pupils from two high schools study here we have to begin classes
earlier and we cannot have any private lessons afterwards, because all the
classrooms are busy, that’s what is making me discontent” (III_C_1). The
re-dimensioning of the educational network, especially in the rural areas,
is not always seen as being appropriate and beneficial for children. The
dilemma is determined by the demographic factor that is the decrease
of the number of children and respectively the number of classes in the
schools: “It is painful… There are three parallel classes in our school, but
there is only one class of 1 st grade pupils. Why? The children leave, so there
are fewer children who are born and people who leave never come back,
they have to wait to graduate from university. They may be back when
they’re old, but again, if their children will be there – they won’t come back
here” (FG_EC_rural). There is also the phenomenon of improving the
educational system with the respective consequences – there are fewer
classes, fewer lessons, and the number of teaching staff drops: “They
closed the school in the neighbouring village, they have no primary school,
all the children were brought here but no additional classes were created,
they just spread us out over the classes that already existed. So, there are
34, 35 and 38 pupils in a class. This year they brought another class from
Ciutesti. We already had a 4 th year class and they brought us another 16
children. They didn’t create another class, they just added them to the existing
one” (FG_EC_rural).
The analysis of legislation and of the secondary education structure reveals
the presence of political and judicial efforts and the necessary infrastruc-
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