Education Quality Improvement Project

About the project

The proposed project aims to improve the quality of education service delivery in Moldova, with an emphasis on disadvantaged students. The first component will focus on enhancing teacher effectiveness through innovations in teaching practices to support learning recovery especially for disadvantaged students. The second component, improving the quality and resilience of physical and digital learning environments in targeted schools, will address critical issues of between-school inequities in learning environments across urban and rural areas. The third component will support the development of institutional capacity to design, pilot, evaluate, and scale up the envisaged reforms, while strengthening project management, implementation, and monitoring capacity, and, to support national and subnational capacity to lead ECEC and basic education reforms to improve access of disadvantaged children including refugees from Ukraine to quality education services. To harness the opportunities of digital transformation, the project will support as a cross-cutting area efforts to embrace systemic changes that promote digitalization practices in education. The fourth Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) will support the country’s future response in the event of a natural or manmade disaster or emergency.

Project Development Objective (PDO)

To: (i) improve the learning environment in participating institutions, with an emphasis on suppor ting disadvantaged students; and (ii) strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Education and Research for sector management and refugee response.

Project Implementation Status

Launched on September 11, 2023, responds to Moldova’s urgent education challenges revealed by PISA 2022, which showed steep declines in student proficiency across reading, math, and science. With Moldovan students more than two years behind OECD peers and over 2,500 Ukrainian refugee students enrolled in schools by May 2025, the project focuses on addressing learning losses, improving teacher quality, strengthening school environments, and building institutional capacity. The Ministry of Education and Research (MoER) has taken proactive measures—such as Order No. 1109/2023 ensuring access for refugees—to promote inclusion and safeguard long-term human capital.

• Component 1: Improving Quality of Teaching targets teacher professional development as the most critical factor in student learning. Between 2024–2025, the project expanded the TEACH methodology to all school levels, trained 48 national trainers in professional competence standards, and scheduled large-scale programs for 500 early childhood educators, 400 young teachers, and 2,370 school managers. The national mathematics assessment (February 2025) involved nearly 30,000 ninth graders, identifying 6,000 students, including refugees, for tutoring support. Additionally, the School In-Kind Grants Program launched in late 2024 is equipping schools to innovate in teaching, with 180 schools participating in information sessions by May 2025.
• Component 2: Improving the Learning Environment focuses on upgrading infrastructure and resources in schools and preschools, prioritizing those serving vulnerable and refugee children. By late 2025, the design phase for 15 schools will be complete, with rehabilitation works starting in October 2025 and preschool projects also underway. Alongside construction, procurement for furniture, sports, and IT equipment has begun, with 200 schools and 200 kindergartens already selected. A restructuring request submitted in July 2025 reallocates funds from new construction to school rehabilitation, aligning with the MoER’s vision for inclusive, modern “Model Schools.”

Component 3: Strengthening Education Sector Management and Refugee Response supports MoER in policy, evaluation, and innovation. The PISA 2025 test was successfully administered to 7,000 students across 275 schools, while beneficiary surveys are underway to inform future improvements. The component also enhances Moldova’s capacity to integrate refugee students and explores the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education to improve teaching, infrastructure, and crisis response. Together, these efforts aim to build a resilient, inclusive education system that equips all students—Moldovan and refugee alike—for long-term success.

Relevant Documents:

• Program Information Document (PID)
• World Bank Project Information Page