We Are Paying for Schools That Are Emptying

In 2005-2012, an average of 430,000 pupils per year were taught in the Republic of Moldova, with a strong downward trend in the number of pupils from one year to the next. Thus, we observe a decreasing trend in the average number of pupils per school, from 333 pupils in 2005 to 263 pupils in 2013. While the number of schools fell by 10.2% (157 schools closed), the number of pupils fell by 29.2%. In 2012, 51.3% of total education expenditure, or about MDL 3.8 billion (MDL 3,792,803,972), was spent on primary and general secondary education. This expenditure accounted for 4.3% of Gross Domestic Product, up from 3.8% in 2005. We observe a decrease in the number of pupils and an increase in expenditure from the National Public Budget (NPB) for primary and secondary education. Thus, in 2005-2012, the cost per pupil increased about fourfold, from about MDL 2.8 thousand to MDL 10.4 thousand. As regards the structure of NPB expenditure over the last seven years, 65% was allocated to personnel expenditure, 26% to current expenditure and 9% to capital expenditure. The structure of expenditure shows that school funding is directed towards teachers' salaries and the maintenance of existing infrastructure, while capital expenditure receives the smallest share of allocations.