Schools stay closed in Romania

Schools closed temporarily in March will only reopen in September.

Leyla Cheamil, 28.04.2020, 13:50

With the Covid-19
outbreak spreading fast, the Romanian authorities decided on the 11th
March to temporarily close kindergartens, schools and universities to contain
the spread. As the state of emergency was extended, schools remained closed. On
Monday, president Klaus Iohannis announced that schools will only reopen in
September for the new school year and that until then teaching will continue to
be done remotely. The ministry of education said support would be provided for
the children and teachers who do not have access to technology.

Education minister
Monica Anisie says the grading system will be simplified for the rest of the
term and that the curriculum will be adjusted to make up for missed work. The
ministry will draft new guidelines for each discipline so that subjects that
were supposed to be taught this term may be covered in the next school year. Pupils
who will graduate from high school this year will, however, go back to school
on 2nd June for two weeks to prepare for their graduation exams. Strict
rules will be in place in schools for this period to prevent the spread of the
virus.

Education minister
Monica Anisie explains that the national evaluation and the baccalaureate exam
will take into account the new curriculum published by the ministry:

The national
evaluation will take place beginning on 15th June. For a change, the
baccalaureate will begin this year with the written tests, on 22nd
June, followed by the oral exams. In the case of vocational and dual vocational
schools as well as post-secondary education, the examination will only consist
in the submission of projects.

In another development, parents will be able to
register their kids to kindergarten and school for the next school year online,
the minister of education also said. The psychological evaluation needed for
children to be enrolled in the first year of school will be replaced with a
signed declaration from parents and legal guardians and a recommendation from
the children’s kindergartens.

As for higher education, students will continue
to use technology-assisted learning and exams can also be taken online. Each
higher-education institution is to make public how they plan to hold the exams.
The measures taken by the Romanian ministry of education are similar to those
taken in other European states such as Italy, Latvia, Portugal and Hungary. (CM)