Moldovan universities to independently decide on academic calendar for finishing 2019-2020 school year

Chisinau, 4 May /MOLDPRES/ - Each higher education institution will make an evaluation of the situation of students’ learning at the end of the emergency state; afterwards, the education institutions will decide on the extension of amendment of the academic calendar. Education, Culture and Research Minister Igor Sarov made statements to this effect at a today’s news briefing.  

According to the official, the higher education institutions have university autonomy in terms of the fields of leadership, structuring, teaching and scientific activities, management and financing, establishing specialties, working out of syllabi and analytical plans, in accordance with the state standards. ‘’Since the establishment of the emergency state, the ministry has issued framework-recommendations on the organization of online teaching activities. Through the latter, special attention was paid to the school-leavers from this year, on the dimension of preparing the graduation and master theses, specialty probations, intermediary and final evaluations,’’ the minister said.    

Thus, the university senates are to also decide on the ways of finishing of the higher degree education, which have included also exams in certain disciplines, besides the graduation theses. ‘’For its part, the Education, Culture and Research Ministry suggests that the graduation theses be maintained also online in the 2019-2020 on the period of the emergency state, based on a methodology approved by the university senate, provided that the university has a proper electronic platform,’’ Igor Sarov said. 

The online maintenance of theses must be fully registered for each graduate separately and archived at the faculty. At the same time, the university senate will decide whether to preserve or not the exam in the syllabi of higher degree education, where it is established, besides the maintenance of the graduation thesis.     

„For all students, at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, depending on the profile, syllabus and possibilities of the higher education institution, the university senate can decide on forms of quarterly evaluation, organizing them in online format, replacing the traditional examinations by alternative forms of evaluation, such as essays, portfolios, projects, case studies, current, periodical evaluations, individual work, scientific activity, etc.’’ Sarov noted.    

The Education, Culture and Research Ministry today informed that the 2019-2020 school year would continue online and would end on 29 May.