The Covid-19 pandemic has shattered the world,
\nand the effects are being felt in all fields, including education. In Romania,
\nthe social distancing imposed by authorities to prevent the spread of the virus
\nled, naturally, to all schools being shut down for a limited period of time.
\nThe decision was made three weeks ago, so all pupils and students are at home,
\nnot knowing when regular classes are to be resumed, as nobody knows how the
\npandemic is going to develop further. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Schools will remain closed until there is
\nno danger for children’s health, said the education minister Monica Anisie in mid-March,
\nwithout mentioning a clear end to the suspension of classes. The official gave
\nassurances that her ministry’s specialists were working on several scenarios,
\naimed to make up for the effects of the current crisis.<\/p>\n
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\n
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In the meantime, classes have been held online,
\nbut the method was quick to show its vulnerabilities. On the one hand, not all
\npupils have a computer, a laptop or a tablet and internet connection, and, on
\nthe other hand, not all teachers have started using such means. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The education
\nminister has sent an open letter to all pre-university teachers voicing her
\nconfidence in their capacity to create the necessary educational context, via
\nall possible means of communication, and to motivate pupils to stay connected
\nto education. This means maintaining the balance in this process, by adapting
\nthe volume of resources transmitted to pupils, of individual activities they
\nare supposed to carry out, and participation in online classes should be
\nsomething pupils are looking forward to, not just more pressure, said minister
\nMonica Anisie.<\/p>\n
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\n
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The Education Ministry has identified a set of
\ndigital tools and resources that can be used in technology-assisted home schooling,
\nwhich have been aggregated on a platform. I recommend teachers should select
\nthe most adequate tools and instruments or to create their own resources. We
\nare aware of the fact that there are both pupils and teachers who do not have
\nthe necessary technological means to keep the learning process going, the
\neducation minister said, also pointing out to the fact that this period of
\nsuspension of classes and home schooling should be used to consolidate what has
\nbeen already taught in class, and students are not going to be evaluated. <\/p>\n
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Also, while classes stay suspended because of the
\ncoronavirus pandemic, the Education Ministry is organizing, in cooperation with
\nthe public TV station, televised classes meant to ensure a bit of continuity in
\neducation. Most programs target 8th and 12th graders, as
\nthey have to take national examinations this year. (M.Ignatescu)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Romania resorts to online learning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":85277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-85276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n