George DUCA, academician

2010-06-05

STATEMENT

Education is, without doubt, a system of fundamental values with an impact on all domains of human activity and if a mistake is made here, in the propagation of these values, than the mistake is made on all dimensions, as a chain reaction. The useless allocation of funds, afterwards, will not mitigate the consequences of the lack of education! Based on such judgments, in the process of modernizing of the legal framework in a strategic domain, as education is, - rush, superficiality, promotion of selfish interests of the moment and inability to evaluate the consequences is the most damaging manifest of the actors involved in the process, contrary to a manifest of eminent RESPONSIBILITY.

The Academy of Sciences of Moldova has always pleaded for the modernizing and adjustment of education to the European standards, in domains such as education-research-innovation, the 3 pylons which constitute the basis of the modern development process of countries. This stated truth is as clear as the fact that a human being is dependent on air-water-light. Therefore, the statement that the Academy of Sciences of Moldova is against the elaboration of an Educational Code is to be considered a ridiculous speculation. Scientist, contrary to such speculations, opt for a true code for this domain, one that can meet all the modern demands in the process of building a knowledge-based society and which will assure an European future for the Republic of Moldova.

In these conditions, it would be a crime against the people of this nation to be silent and pretend not to see the outrage mistakes made in the process of elaboration of the current Education Code draft, assembled in a certain rush and based on the Education Code of the previous government, - also rejected by ASM, a draft which doesn’t have any logical purpose, doesn’t meet the current needs of the Republic of Moldova, is filled by declarative provisions, confusing language and obsolete terminology which in return generates a legal chaos, which, in lack of mandatory articles and a real functioning mechanism, will oblige no one to uphold the law. With regret, we can state that what is proposed to us now is nothing more than a mean to bring paralysis to two fundamental systems of the state – education and research, without offering any rational arguments.

In this situation, we salute the wise initiative of the prime-minister of the Republic of Moldova, Vlad Filat, which was made public yesterday, 3rd of June 2010 (http://www.moldpres.md:8080/News.aspx?NewsCod=4990&NewsDate=03.06.2010), regarding the declaring of a moratorium on the current Education Code draft “for taking a reasonable decision on this issue”. The reaction of the prime-minister on the public appeal made recently by academician Vasile Anestiade, a notorious personality in the sphere of science, as well as the arguments made by scientists, reveals the appearance, on the political stage, of well trained youth which know to cherish the values of education and science, animating, at the same time, the good national tradition of listening to elders.

Starting from the initiative of Prime Minister Filat, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova expresses its full availability to contribute to the development of a modern education code, which will be generally accepted by society, following all the steps that our neighbors have followed - Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, which in consequence will return the process of development of this important document, to its natural form – LEGALITY. Further, we will emphasize on the fundamental steps that the authors of the current code have managed to disregard.

First step: To render an international audit of the educational system of the Republic of Moldova, estimated four to six months, which will enunciate the true state of that specific domain in a manner that we can decide what is needed to be done. A separate, but parallel, audit in the domain of science-innovation is implied.

Second step: Governmental establishment of a council, with the participation of all the actors involved in the education process, which will elaborate, on basis of the international audit, the Concept of the Education Code draft, which must respond clearly to the questions: which is the basic concept of the Code; what is the purpose and object of legislative regulation; the persons to whom the regulations of the future law will expand; rights and duties of parties; what is the place of the future law in the current legal system; general characteristics and the assessment of the state of the regulatory process of the social relation in the domain; what social, economic, political, legal and other consequences will result from the implementation of the future legislation?

Third step: Submission to a public survey and the later approval by Parliament, of the Concept of the Education Code.

Forth step: Establishment of a governmental committee, in conditions of full transparency, for the development of the Education Code draft, based upon the Concept, with respect to the general principle of separation of powers.

Fifth step: Submission of the Education Code draft, to a public expertise and its subsequent promotion under the procedure established by law.

Scientists condemn political interference in the process of drafting of the Education Code, this being an exclusive activity of the experts of domain institutions, unions, patronage, businesses, civil society etc. The adverse and ridiculous impact of the political interference in matters such as the Romanian Language, National History, establishing “parliamentary majority” etc, must be clear to us all.

The Education Code must offer optimal solutions to the challenges that the educational system as well as the Republic of Moldova, are facing today.

Also we would like to assure the press, which beset us with questions, that in the matter of scientific management and that of education in the university system of the Republic of Moldova, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova will come with the necessary explanations, based on a thorough documentation, on real facts and figures.

Academician Gheorghe DUCA,
President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova