The Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, and Rita Almeida, manager of the education sector for Europe and Central Asia within the World Bank, analyzed on Wednesday, in a meeting, the situation of kindergartens and schools affected by floods in Galati county, as well as the possibility of an intervention by the Ministry of Education with the support of the World Bank.

„The Ministry of Education centralizes the needs of the affected educational units and will coordinate the allocation of aid and the support that the schools need, for the children to return to class as quickly as possible,” said Ligia Deca.

The representatives of the Ministry of Education say that the World Bank remains an important partner in managing crisis situations and applying the reforms assumed by the new education laws.

The meeting continued with a discussion about the results of the projects carried out by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the World Bank.

Thus, the secondary education project (ROSE), financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development through a loan of 200 million euros, is in the last months of implementation.

„The results of the ROSE project are beyond the initial expectations, exceeding most of the initially planned targets. For example, the average dropout rate in the final grades of the high schools supported by the project decreased by almost 6 percentage points, while the average rate of passing the baccalaureate in the high schools supported by the project increased by over 19 p.p. Both indicators significantly exceeded the assumed final goals. International for Reconstruction and Development with 100 million euros for the construction/consolidation and expansion of 22 schools”, reads the quoted source.

Also participating in the meeting at the Ministry of Education were Bogdan Cristescu and Sorin Ion, secretaries of state, Liliana Preoteasa, director of the Project Management Unit with External Financing, and Mirela Dirstaru, director of the Project Management Unit for the Modernization of the School Network.

The World Bank delegation was formed by Rita Almeida, manager of the education sector for Europe and Central Asia, Alanna Simpson, interim country manager, and the team made up of specialists in education, operations and economics: Ciro Avitabile, Cristobal Cobo, Alina Sava, Ioana Irimia and Lorena Chiran.

AGERPRES