During the 32 years since Romania’s
\nanti-communist revolution, no other sector has been subject to so many, and
\noften so confusing, changes as public education. The country’s chronic
\npolitical instability brought at the top of the education ministry a long line
\nof characters eager to introduce innovations that would make them famous. They
\nwere quickly replaced, so all they managed to do was to cancel the reforms
\npromoted by their predecessors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Three decades of constant innovation
\nlater, the results are evident. Both students and parents complain about the
\nsense of confusion caused by rules changing midgame. Romanians who can afford
\nit send their children to school abroad, and in turn the country’s brightest
\ngraduates chose to leave the country. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There is no vocational education to speak
\nof, so it is increasingly difficult to find a good plumber or mechanic. Because
\nof the stress and low pay, the teaching profession is no longer attractive, so
\nthe number of substitute teachers is growing, especially in the countryside and
\nin smaller towns. And relevant surveys converge with respect to the high rate
\nof functional illiteracy among Romanian school graduates. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In this rather dismal context, the
\nincumbent education minister Sorin C\u00eempeanu, a Liberal Party member, announces
\nnotable changes in the field, which, he claims, are likely to improve the situation.
\n<\/p>\n
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\n
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National colleges, i.e. the best high
\nschools in the country, will be able to select 90% of their students by
\norganising their own admission exams. The remaining 10% of the students will be
\nselected based on candidates’ results in the national evaluation, a test that
\nmiddle school graduates must take at present. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Moreover, starting in 2024, the middle school grade average will no longer be taken into account in the high school
\nadmission process, because, minister C\u00eempeanu says, it has lost its relevance. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Changes are planned for the baccalaureate
\nexam as well, which will no longer be conditional on passing the optional
\nwritten test in a candidate’s major specialisation. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Access to a teaching career will also be
\ndifferent, the education minister announced. Under the new law, a one-year
\ntraineeship under a tutor’s guidance will be introduced, and tenure exams and
\norganisation will be changed. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The new education bill will be subject to public
\nreview for a month, until August 17. And according to commentators, just like
\nmany draft legislative acts put together by the Cabinet, this too will very
\nlikely be amended substantially. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romania’s public education system braces up for new changes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":92860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29190,28904,35577,35578,29721,40628,32738,37634],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-92859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-baccalaureate","tag-education","tag-exams","tag-high-school","tag-law","tag-middle","tag-public","tag-teachers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n