site.btaTeachers in Romania Boycott Second Day of School

The second day of the school year in Romania began with a classroom boycott by teachers, local media reported on Tuesday. According to Digi24, many teachers entered classrooms only to write the lesson title on the blackboard, with their role limited to supervising students, taking attendance, and maintaining order, without engaging in any actual teaching.

While schools remain open, the atmosphere is tense following a mass protest in Bucharest on Monday, when more than 10,000 teachers from across the country marched against new government austerity measures. The demonstration marked the peak of a month-long wave of rallies in the capital. Teachers are protesting reforms that include school restructuring and an increase in weekly teaching hours, which are part of broader efforts to reduce Romania’s excessive budget deficit. On September 1, the Romanian government assumed responsibility in Parliament for the bills included in the second budgetary-fiscal package, which aims to reduce the excessive budget deficit that reached 9.3% of GDP last year.

Education trade unions have warned that a general strike is now under consideration. On August 7, for the second time in less than a month, the unions called on President Nicusor Dan to intervene and reverse government measures aimed at reducing the national budget deficit, measures they say pose a serious threat to the public education system.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) announced in a press release sent to the Bulgarian News Agency that its MPs will submit a request on Wednesday to summon the Minister of Education for a parliamentary hearing over the ongoing crisis in the sector. "Unfortunately, the situation in education is far worse than in previous years. Romania is the EU member state that allocates the smallest share of GDP to education and research. Standardized tests place us at the bottom of EU rankings, with a functional illiteracy rate of 44%. Only 25–26% of young people hold a higher education degree, once again placing Romania last in the EU," AUR stated.