Public education salaries, under review

The Chamber of Deputies has endorsed a bill regulating salaries in public education, and the Senate is expected to cast the final vote on the new piece of legislation.

Daniela Budu, 08.11.2017, 13:09

The salaries of public education staff would be paid, starting in 2018, from the state budget via the Education Ministry, instead of city halls, under a new bill endorsed on Tuesday by the lower chamber of the Romanian Parliament.

The bill also stipulates that the payment of outstanding salary amounts awarded in court to some of the public education employees would be spread out over 5 years. The chairperson of the Education Committee, the Social Democratic Senator Camelia Gavrila, explained:

Camelia Gavrila: “The bill essentially transfers the funding of public education salaries to the Education Ministry, which will break down the amounts to county inspectorates and further on to schools, precisely because so far there have been so many delays, difficulties and other problems which have nothing to do with the teaching process. Another aspect regulated by this bill is the payment of the outstanding amounts claimed by the teaching staff and trade unions.”

The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition voted against the bill. The Liberal Deputy Raluca Turcan argues that the measure comes against the principle of public education autonomy and decentralization, and that the payment of overdue salaries is actually postponed.

Raluca Turcan: “Basically, the mayors and other public authority decision-makers in charge with financing school infrastructure are left with the money, but without the smallest tool to monitor school management.”

Since 2007, when it joined the European Union, Romania has been steadily losing its teachers. This is because they are not properly paid at home, which makes the teaching profession rather unattractive both for top specialists and for youth with a calling for this field. From primary schools to universities, Romanian public education units are struggling with an acute shortage of staff, and they see their teachers leave not only for foreign countries, but also for private schools in Romania, which pay them as much as 5 times more.

Over the past few years, successive governments have tried, and largely failed, to address the situation, resorting to anything from pay raise promises to professional and logistic facilities.

Meanwhile, according to a survey recently posted for public debate by the Education Ministry, more than half of Romania’s students go to either overcrowded, or underused schools. Nearly 30% of the schools in Romania lack indoor toilets, and more than 40% of them are run in buildings in high earthquake risk areas.

The Education Ministry intends to upgrade the relevant infrastructure, and to build or revamp campuses. The Ministry has also launched a public debate on the issue of homework, with a view to addressing some dysfunctions. Teaching staff, parents and students are invited to express their views on this issue, online by November 20th.