site.btaFour Schools from Taraclia District to Participate in Moldova's Pilot Multilingual Education Programme

Four schools from Moldova’s Taraclia District have been included in the list of educational institutions selected to participate in a pilot programme on multilingual education approved by the Ministry of Education and Research on April 2. The schools are Ivan Vazov Theoretical Lyceum in Taraclia, the Theoretical Lyceum in Tvardita, Hristo Botev Theoretical Lyceum in Valea Perjei village, and the Lyceum in Chumai village.

The programme aims to develop students’ language competences through an integrated curricular approach, using two or more languages as tools for teaching and learning. According to the Education Ministry, the initiative seeks to diversify educational provision by expanding teaching and learning in multiple languages of instruction.

A total of 39 educational institutions from across the country will take part in the pilot programme, including 14 in urban areas and 25 in rural areas. The largest number of schools are in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (27), followed by Taraclia District (4), Balti Municipality (3), Edinet (2), and one school each in Calarasi, Riscani and Briceni districts.

The total number of students enrolled in these institutions is 13,943, taught by 389 teachers delivering non-language subjects in both Romanian and the students’ native languages. Each school will determine which subjects are to be taught in Romanian or in minority languages, depending on available teaching resources and the specifics of their curricula.

Subjects to be taught in Romanian include Personal Development, Education for Society, Moral and Spiritual Education, Fine Arts and Technological Education. Subjects to be taught in ethnic minority languages will include History, Culture and Traditions of the People (in Gagauz, Bulgarian and Ukrainian), Physical Education, Fine Arts and Personal Development. Until now, these subjects have been taught mainly in Russian.

The pilot phase will run from 2025 to 2028 in the selected schools. The programme is being introduced on an experimental basis, during which different models of multilingual education will be applied and their results monitored.

According to the 2024 census, Moldova’s population stands at just over 2.4 million. Official data show that Bulgarians account for 1.6% of the population, with compact communities living in Taraclia District in Southern Moldova. The ethnic composition of the country, according to the 2024 census, is as follows: Moldovans 77.2%, Romanians 7.9%, Ukrainians 4.9%, Gagauz 4.2%, Russians 3.2%, Bulgarians 1.6%, and Roma 0.4%.