Preparations for national exams
Romanian students who hold national exams have returned to school.
Leyla Cheamil, 02.06.2020, 13:50
Students have returned to school almost three months after education institutions were shot down in Romania, upon the authorities’ decision, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Going back to school as of Tuesday are only students in the final years, who take part in classes preparing them for the national evaluation exams, namely the National Evaluation for the 8th grade students and the Baccalaurate for the high school students in the 4th year. All other students will attends classes held online.
Education Minister Monica Anisie has recently announced that, between June 2 and 12 only training and counseling activities will be conducted, and the presence at school during this period is optional. Students whose parents decide not to allow them to go back to school, students with health problems or in whose family are persons included in the risk category, will continue to prepare for the exams, online. Also on Tuesday registration for the National Evaluation has started. Thus, 8th grade students can register on the list until June 5th with the first exam being scheduled for June 15. At the same time, an additional session of this exam will take place on June 29th, for students who cannot hold the exam during the first session, for health reasons.
The first exam of the Baccalaureate will be held on June 22. It will also have an additional session, for students with health problems. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, specific procedures for the organization of the educational activities have been established through ministers order. Thus, upon entering the school students and teachers will have their temperature checked, which cannot be higher than 37.7 degrees Celsius. In case anyone has symptoms of coronavirus or is in a poor health condition, the access to the building will be denied. Moreover, everybody must wear protective masks.
Desks have been placed two meters away from each other. Minister Monica Anisie has given assurances that desks and chairs will be disinfected and all distancing procedures will be observed. These measures will also be applied during the national evaluation exams. In terms of university exams, Education Ministry representatives say that, given the special situation this year, they can also be held online as the legal framework for it has been created. There are universities where exams for the BA, MA and PhD studies will be held exclusively online, while other universities require the presence of candidates at the education units, arguing that this way candidates can be evaluated more objectively. (Translated by Elena Enache)
