Director of “Gheorghe Asachi” Lyceum under corruption investigation may lose teaching and managerial degrees
Natalia Bulat, the director of the "Gheorghe Asachi" Theoretical Lyceum in Chisinau, has recently been detained in a corruption case. As a result, she may lose her teaching and managerial degrees. Dan Perciun, the Minister of Education and Research, announced that the lyceum has already begun internal procedures to assess the director's integrity.
"We provide necessary information when required, but most of the data is available to the National Anticorruption Center (CNA). We have initiated discussions within the National Ethics and Integrity Commission. At this stage, the ministry's role is to ascertain any breaches of integrity and to consider withdrawing teaching degrees. This process has begun and, as is standard, may take some time. The Commission will convene to address the issues raised. The director will be invited to provide explanations, and the decision may lead to the revocation of both teaching and managerial degrees," stated Dan Perciun after the Government meeting on November 5.
According to the minister, "this sanction seems appropriate, at least from the perspective of the educational system." However, the principle of the presumption of innocence is currently being upheld.
It is important to note that Natalia Bulat was detained on October 30 of this year and placed in preventive arrest for 30 days by the Chisinau Court in Ciocana.
The National Anticorruption Center suspects the director of fictitious employment, which allegedly led to the embezzlement of funds from the lyceum, as well as extortion, acceptance, and systematic receipt of financial payments from various economic agents.
Investigators indicate that these amounts represent approximately 10% of the value of public procurement contracts awarded to the educational institution, including money from contracts for goods, services, and works.
During law enforcement searches, significant sums of money were discovered, the origins of which are still under investigation.
