How is the school year going to end?
Classes will be resumed when the state of emergency has ended, the Romanian Education Minister Monica Anisie has announced
Leyla Cheamil, 08.04.2020, 01:50
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools were temporarily shut down on March 11th, as a state of emergency was declared in order to limit
the spread of the new coronavirus. Teachers, students and parents have voiced
worries, given that no date was set for
the end of the current situation.
As there have been voices saying that the
school year will be frozen, the Education Minister Monica Anisie has publicly
stated that this is not going to happen, as the ministry is working to make
sure things come back to normal once the state of emergency ends and classes
are resumed in all education units. The state of emergency has been extended,
though, until mid-May, and the education minister has given assurances that, in
the meantime, all measures are being taken for both pupils, students and
teachers to be safe.
She has also said that the exact date on which classes
will be resumed is yet to be established, in keeping with the evolution of the
pandemic, and the measures communicated by the National Committee for Emergency
Situations. For now, the working scenario is the one in which pre-university
and university courses will start again in June.
The education minister has also
spoken of a potential calendar for the national examinations:
The written examinations, for both the
national evaluation and the baccalaureate, might be held in July. The curricula
will not include the subject matters that should have been studied in the
second semester. We have cancelled all simulations, as well as school Olympiads
and contests.
Registrations for prep school, kindergarten and planning of teacher
mobility will be postponed, the education minister has also announced, saying
that the dates will be communicated as soon as a day for the resumption of
classes is established.
As regards higher education, activities are being carried out online,
and those that require ‘face to face’ interaction will be rescheduled, from the
moment the state of emergency ceases. In fact, pupils too are taking part in
online classes, but not all of them.
According to a survey conducted by the
pupils’ national council, some 36% of the pupils in Romania have said their
schools do not hold online classes, and even if they do, attendance is very
low. According to the report, the main subjects for which classes are being held
online are Romanian language and literature, mathematics and foreign languages. (M.Ignatescu)
