site.btaRomanian Education Minister Pressured to Drop Reforms, Teachers’ Protests Continue

Romanian Education Minister Daniel David will request a meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and propose that the government withdraw key measures in the education sector, including plans to increase weekly teaching hours by two, raise the number of students per classroom, and merge schools. The commitment was made during a meeting with education trade union representatives on Monday evening, the trade unions said on Tuesday.

The trade unions argued that increasing the teaching workload would have severe consequences, as many full-time teachers would no longer be guaranteed 20 hours of teaching per week. They added that raising the number of students in each classroom would lower the quality of education. Reducing the hourly pay rate would deepen the shortage of qualified staff in several subjects, and the merging of hundreds of educational institutions would lead to layoffs among support and administrative personnel.

According to Minister David, not implementing the measures would require an additional 2 billion Romanian lei to keep the education system functioning through the end of the year.

Protesting teachers from Bucharest, Neamt, Braila, Galati, and other parts of the country accused the government of passing an anti-social education law without meaningful consultation with those working in the sector during a demonstration on Tuesday outside the Ministry of Education in Bucharest. 

Despite multiple efforts by the unions, including meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and leaders of coalition parties, the education law was published in the Official Gazette, further escalating tensions in the sector.

Education representatives say they will continue holding protests periodically through September, culminating in a large-scale demonstration with an estimated 30,000 participants on September 8, the first day of the new school year.