The schools have a unique status: they are financed by Moldova's Treasury and international organizations, but they do not report to the Transdniestrian government, Litskai remarked. There is no Romanian community (ethnic Russians form the bulk of the population) in the breakaway republic, but there are Romanian schools, which refuse to get formally registered, he lamented.
According to Deputy Education Minister Stepa Berila, six of the Romanian schools based in Transdniestria had their licenses expired a long time ago. Under Transdniestrian laws, they shall undergo formal accreditation. "We have offered registration to those schools more than once, but the problem has been prolonged artificially," he noted, adding that four of the schools operate without proper teaching licenses. It is only natural that a state should vindicate its educational standards, he stressed.
The registration of Romanian schools in the republic is an issue brought up on more than occasion, Transdniestrian Justice Minister Viktor Balala said. "Before the start of each new academic year, we would approach them with the request that they have their accreditation extended. And each time, Moldova would respond by asking us not to exacerbate the problem in the coming year," the minister said.
Balala went on to report that last year, the republic of Transdniestria had taken steps to resolve the conflict in conjunction with a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). "As the 2003-04 academic year ended, Transdniestria sent a request to Moldova that accreditation be granted before July 1. Thus, the authorities were in the know, but nothing was done," the Justice Minister said.
From the legal point of view, the Romanian schools have been non-existent for the past fourteen years, Balala said. "Under the Constitution of Transdniestria, secondary education is compulsory, which means that children's rights have been violated," he pointed out.
Foreign Minister Litskai does not think, however, that the settlement of the school conflict will help resolve other problems between Transdniestria and Moldova. Even "if we solve the school problem, the migration problem will persist and issues such as the status of Moldovan police in Bendery and the transit of foodstuffs through Moldova will remain unsolved," he said, adding that at the start of the 2004-05 academic year, the Transdniestrian government would raise the school issue yet again.
