Teachers voice their grievances
Hundreds of teachers continue their protests in front of the Ministry of Education in Bucharest
Roxana Vasile, 07.08.2025, 14:00
Although they are on a well-deserved vacation, teachers in Romania are thinking about what will happen in education from autumn. The first package of fiscal austerity measures adopted by the coalition government led by Ilie Bolojan that came into force on August 1 will hit them hard too. The teaching load for tenured teachers in the pre-university and university systems will increase from 18 to 20 hours per week. It is an unprecedented measure in recent years! Increasing the norm means loading the teachers’ schedule, either by actually teaching in the classroom, or by more time preparing lessons or correcting papers. Additional unpaid work! Then, by increasing the norm of tenured teachers, the state will save money from those who were paid by the hour. In other words, either the services of the latter will be abandoned, or they will receive less money than before. The way in which school scholarships will be awarded will also change, so that there will be fewer beneficiaries among students. For students, scholarships have been reduced. Added to all this is the mandatory presence of teachers in school from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M., the merging of certain educational units and the increase in the number of students in a class. However, since the law that includes these measures came into force, hundreds of teachers have protested daily in front of the Ministry of Education in Bucharest, but also in other cities in the country. What do they have to say?
“This professional category should be taken into account, because they shape society. We all start here, in school”.
“We have a fairly simple message: to repeal the legislation that harms education and destroys Romanian education or else, resign. And we will also turn our attention to Prime Minister Bolojan, with the same messageʺ.
“I am a pensioner, but I also have the status of a former student and the status of a citizen of this country – who educates them? Those here, who must fight for their rights. I think we should all be here, because we are all influenced in one way or another, over the course of our lives, by our teachers”.
Trade unions state that the 20-hour norm did not exist during the communist period either. In addition, forcing teachers to stay in school until 5 P.M., without being offered decent conditions such as offices, laptops or even lunch, as is the case in other countries, is considered absurd and offensive. If by the start of a new school year, the government does not reverse its austerity measures regarding education, a large-scale rally is scheduled for September 8, the very first day of school, with about 30 thousand people expected to attend. Until then, the occasional protests will continue both in front of the Ministry and the headquarters of the main political parties. Teachers’ representatives have asked for the support of parents, students and local authorities, in order to support quality education, properly financed and with respect for teachers. (VP)
