The students were given 45 minutes to prepare in teams a short presentation on the strengths and weaknesses of the education system of their respective countries (covering all levels of education). The idea was to simulate a quick brainstorming session at a consultancy firm that is working on improving education system of an East European country. The presentations were observed by academics of SSE Riga and the CEO of Dynamic University, Līna Dzene. The panel was truly impressed by the quality of the work of the students and all of the teams were invited for a follow-up interview at DyU in order to explore more thoroughly the issues that had been raised by the students. In the coming months, the findings from the workshop, combined with interviews and additional research will be presented on the DyU website.

This month we are presenting our paper on Moldova developed in close cooperation with Cristina Taranovici, Ecaterina Bencheci and Ecaterina Silova, three SSE Riga students from Moldova. The aim of the interview with the students from Moldova was to, first, get an insight into their experience in SSE Riga and, second, to explore some of the issues the Moldavian higher education system is facing at the moment. The issues raised on higher education in Moldova will be put against the background of the debates on higher education in Latvia and elsewhere.

Students’ experience in SSE Riga

As the main reasons why they chose to study in SSE Riga the three Moldavian students mention scholarships provided by the Swedish government, high position at the Financial Times university ranking, SSE Riga’s modular study system, as well as positive feedback from fellow Moldavian students about the institution. In general, the Moldavian students are satisfied with their choice and the specific highlights of their experience in SSE Riga include international study environment and the close community of students and lecturers, which makes them feel like in “a family”.

One of the aspects that students believe higher education institutions in Moldova should take from SSE Riga is the emphasis on the practical aspects in the subjects being taught. Many challenges faced by the higher education sector in Moldova at the moment are not dissimilar to those currently on the agenda in Latvia or most other countries. To illustrate this, it is first necessary to outline the system of higher education in Moldova.

Higher Education in Moldova

After gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, a new Law on Education was passed in 1995. Ten years later the law was amended to include the Bologna Principles, marking a considerable step towards integrating Moldova into the European Higher Education Area. The 3.5 million nation has in total 34 universities, of which 19 are state and 15 are private institutions of higher education (in comparison, Latvia’s population is 2 million and there are 17 state and 16 private universities). As the students that we interviewed contended, there is no  considerable difference between the quality of teaching in private and public universities.

However, the difference between the two types of institutions is important when one considers the financing that is available for students. In Moldova, 34% of students attending public universities get their studies financed by the state. The financial assistance is provided according to the financial need and academic achievements of the student. Our interviewees explained that most of the scholarships go to students from the countryside, who tend to be less well-off than the ones living in cities. In Latvia, there are also state-funded places in public universities, and 51% of all public university students do not have to pay tuition fee.  DyU has explored issues surrounding student financing in “Financing of Higher Education: Why Change Anything?”.

Youth Education in Moldova

Moldova, as many other countries, is dealing with high youth unemployment and the underlying problem of lack of link between education and employment. Although there is a shortage of job vacancies in Moldova, there is also lack of qualified labour force. 85% of businesses in Moldova complain that there are not enough people with the necessary level of professionalism and specific skills. McKinsey, the consultancy, has termed this problem as “two related global crisis”[1], whereby there is a high level of unemployment and a shortage of people with critical job skills at the same time. In its research of 9 countries[2] the consultancy found out that only 43% of employers surveyed said that they can find enough entry-level skilled workers.[3]

One of the causes of high youth unemployment is, of course, the slow-down in global economic activity; however, the problem is considerably exacerbated by the mismatch between education and employment, and this problem has been affecting Moldova, Latvia as well as many other countries. Around 30% of graduates in Moldova do not work according to the degree they have obtained. A similar problem is also experienced in the USA. According to McKinsey, every third student in the USA believes that university has not provided them with skills required for the work life.[4] As a result, many graduates in the USA find themselves in jobs for which they are overqualified or which, in their opinion, do not require a university degree in the first place.

As it is being increasingly recognised, there has to be an enlarged effort to streamline the transition between education to work, which entails increasing the practicality of education, as well as enhancing the number of students obtaining professional degrees.  The students that we have been working together with recognise that one of the biggest problems with universities in Moldova is that there is too much theory in study programs. This lies in contrast to their studies in SSE Riga, where they see themselves being exposed to real-life knowledge. This point has also been recognised at the governmental level in Moldova – the national development strategy “Moldova 2020” highlights the fact that there is a need for more partnerships between universities and companies.

Perhaps more importantly than introducing practicality of university studies, it is imperative to improve the vocational education. Just like Moldova, Latvia also wants to improve the prevalence of vocational education to achieve the employment levels of such countries as Germany and Austria, which have well-established systems of vocational education. In Moldova, the number of students enrolled in universities has roughly doubled in the last 20 years, whereas the number of students enrolled in secondary vocational education has diminished more than 2 times in the same period. Reversing of this trend is one of the top educational priorities contained in the “Moldova 2020” strategy. Also in Latvia there is a clear plan to increase the number of young people attending vocational schools. That is, according to Latvia’s Ministry of Economics, the aim is to increase this number by 25% till 2020, so that there would be an equal amount of students who obtain general secondary education diploma and those that get a professional qualification. To compare, in Germany, where the youth unemployment rate is only 8%, 60% of youngsters go to vocational schools and only 30% attend university. At the moment, there is a strong commitment in Latvia to introduce elements of the German dual educational system.

Conclusion

Similarly to Latvia, the USA and many other countries, Moldova is suffering from high youth unemployment. The Moldavian government has planned to ameliorate this problem through enhancing emphasis on vocational training, which is an attempt to reverse the dominant trend of the last 20 years, namely, increasing number of students choosing university over vocational education. Similar efforts can be witnessed in Latvia and other countries.