In short: every institution on piticluj.ro passes through three filters — official sources (ARACIP registries, the Cluj County School Inspectorate’s school network, the city hall), the institution’s own website, and, since 2026, direct contact by email. Institutions that reply and confirm their details receive a “Data verified by the institution” badge on their page, showing the month of verification. The badge is not a recommendation and not an authorisation — it says exactly this much: the information came from the institution and was confirmed on that date.

This article explains the process, so you know how far to trust each piece of information here.

Why it matters

A kindergarten directory ages quickly. Phone numbers change, premises move, branches close, fees rise, new groups open. A parent who calls an old number or drives to the wrong address loses time precisely when they have least of it.

We deliberately don’t offer a form for institutions to edit their own page, because that turns a directory into an advertising board. Instead we verify, and we show where each piece of information comes from.

The three sources

1. Official sources. The starting point for every listed institution:

  • the ARACIP registries — for the provisional authorisation or accreditation status of private units;
  • the ISJ Cluj school network — for state units, their attached branches and contact details;
  • the city hall and the municipal nursery administration — for state nurseries in the city.

2. The institution’s own website. Schedule, fees, languages of instruction, branches — checked on the official page, not on aggregators or social media.

3. Direct contact. Periodically we write to institutions and ask them to confirm or correct what we display: language groups for the current and coming year, the minimum age accepted, all locations, address, phone, website, schedule and prices.

Where the three disagree, the official source wins on legal status, and the institution wins on operational data (schedule, fees, ages). If we cannot confirm something, we mark it as such and point to the official source rather than inventing it.

What the verification badge means

You’ll see it on the institution’s page, in the kindergarten and nursery lists, on the map, and in filtered results. You can show only verified institutions by ticking “Verified only” in the filters.

What it means:

  • someone at the institution replied and confirmed or corrected the details we display;
  • the month shown on the badge is when that happened;
  • the corrections we received have been applied.

What it does NOT mean:

  • it is not a recommendation or a quality rating — we do not assess institutions;
  • it is not an operating authorisation and does not replace checking the ARACIP registries;
  • it is not a paid placement — the badge is free and cannot be bought;
  • it does not guarantee the data stays valid indefinitely. That’s why we show the month: an old confirmation visibly reads as old.

The absence of a badge is not a negative signal. It only means the institution hasn’t replied yet — often because we have no working email address for it.

What we do when the data doesn’t match

A few real cases from the verification process, without names:

Wrong address for a branch. An institution with several locations told us its kindergarten operates at a different address from the one we listed, and that the address we showed now houses a different level of education. We moved the record, along with its coordinates, neighbourhood and phone number.

Inaccurate languages of instruction. An institution listed with several languages confirmed that teaching is exclusively in one. We reduced the list to the real language of instruction.

Outdated fees. Several institutions sent updated fee tables, sometimes split by short and extended hours or by age level. We replaced the old ranges.

A name in another language. One institution asked us to use the name it actually operates under, rather than a translated version. We changed it.

A misplaced map pin. One institution reported that its marker falls on the building in front. We did not move the pin by eye: a guessed position is worse than a knowingly imprecise one. We asked for the exact coordinates.

Dead email addresses. In the first contact round, several addresses returned permanent errors — a non-existent domain or a closed mailbox. We removed them from the database so no non-working contact details remain.

What we don’t do

  • We don’t accept payment for listing, for position in a list, or for the badge.
  • We don’t classify an institution on a single secondary source. Legal status is checked in official registries.
  • We don’t publish personal contact details of staff.
  • We don’t delete information because an institution would rather not appear — we correct what is wrong, but the directory stays complete.
  • We don’t invent figures. If a threshold or an amount changes annually and we can’t confirm it, we describe the mechanism and point to the official source.

How you can help

If you’re a parent and you find something wrong — a phone number that no longer works, a changed schedule, a branch that has closed — write to us. We’ll correct it and verify at source.

If you represent an institution, you can write any time to confirm or correct your details. You receive the badge after confirmation, free of charge. If you hold a provisional authorisation or accreditation we can’t find in the registries, send us the number and we’ll update the page.

The contact address is in the site footer, alongside the full list of sources we use.

Frequently asked questions

What does the “Data verified by the institution” badge mean? That the institution replied directly and confirmed or corrected the details we display, in the month shown on the badge. It is not a recommendation, a quality rating or an operating authorisation.

Does the badge cost anything? No. Listing and the badge are free and cannot be purchased. We don’t sell positions in a list.

Is an institution without a badge worse? No. It only means it hasn’t confirmed its details yet — frequently because we have no working email address for it.

How often do you verify the data? Official sources are tracked continuously, and direct contact happens periodically, particularly ahead of enrolment periods. The month on the badge shows exactly when the last confirmation happened.

Why can’t I edit my institution’s page myself? Because a directory where everyone writes their own entry becomes an advertising board. We verify and show sources, so the information stays comparable between institutions.

How do I report incorrect information? Write to the address in the site footer with the institution and the detail in question. We’ll check at source and correct it.

Sources

Conclusion

A useful directory isn’t the one with the most institutions, it’s the one you can trust when you pick up the phone. That’s why we combine official sources with direct contact, and show — through the badge and the month on it — how fresh each piece of information is.

See verified institutions by ticking “Verified only” on the piticluj.ro interactive map, or in the kindergartens and nurseries lists.