Daniel David: ”Education reforms come with tough but necessary measures”

Education Minister Daniel David, at the beginning of his second term, announces a series of profound reforms, motivated by the economic crisis and the urgent need to streamline the system. With an honest and emphatic tone, David states that he is ready to become a "minister of sacrifice", including taking on criticism, for the common good. The minister sent a personal message in which he acknowledged that the optimism at the beginning of his initial term (December 2024 - June 2025) has turned into a "concerned realism" in the face of current financial difficulties. He spoke about the stakes in education and research, his concrete plans and the symbolic gesture of donating 25% of his salary, monthly, for social and merit scholarships. "I did not come for the position, but to answer a duty. I am ready to bear both the vile criticism and the justified ones", declared the minister, a psychologist by profession and rector of Babeş-Bolyai University before joining the Government.

• Reforms in crisis: between balance and sacrifices

Daniel David presented the two guiding principles of his mandate: "Per Aspera Ad Astra" and "Sapere Aude", advocating for a moral and rational reform. His objectives are based on the QX Report, a strategic document assumed by the current government coalition and intended to provide a coherent direction for the modernization of the system.

The minister states that although the system will not suffer staff or salary cuts, significant efficiency efforts are inevitable. Scholarship reform, adjustment of teaching standards and reorganization of the school network are just some of the announced measures.

• Merit and inclusion scholarships, within sustainable limits

One of the most controversial measures concerns the scholarship system, which has come to cost nearly 7 billion lei annually - "almost a quarter of the national deficit,” as David pointed out. "We have one of the most generous scholarship systems in Europe, but we are not one of the world's economic powers,” the minister said. He proposes reducing the types of scholarships to just two categories: social scholarships, to support inclusion, including for minor mothers; merit scholarships, awarded to the top 15% of students in a class, with an average of over 9. The scholarships will be awarded only for the actual period of schooling, and the social evaluation will be transferred to local authorities, through social assistance services.

• Teaching hours and relief: more hours, but better distributed

Regarding teachers' norms, legal values will be able to be increased by up to two hours under certain conditions (fragmented norms, disadvantaged environments, students with SEN, etc.).

Relief for management positions will be limited to approximately 30%, and hourly pay will be adjusted so as not to exceed the remuneration equivalent to the basic norm.

In universities, the limit of teaching equivalence will increase from 16 to 18 hours.

• School reorganization: larger, but more efficient classes and units

In an attempt to make the system more efficient, the minister proposes increasing the minimum and maximum number of students per class, but within psycho-pedagogical limits. Also, the threshold of students required for a school to have legal personality will increase, especially in rural areas, in an attempt to modernize education in disadvantaged areas.

The Minister of Education announced that he will donate 25% of his monthly salary from the ministry to finance two merit scholarships and seven social scholarships. "I cannot compensate for the effects of the crisis alone, but the gesture is symbolic. I hope to inspire other decision-makers to contribute actively, not just criticize,” said David.

The minister concluded with a call for understanding and cooperation, acknowledging that the measures are difficult, but necessary in the context of the current crisis. "Between the desire to preserve all the benefits and the measures imposed from outside the system, I have chosen a rational and decent path. It is the only one that can lead us, through the crisis, towards a modern and functional education,” concluded Daniel David. The announced reforms open a difficult but also essential stage for the future of Romanian education. In a period of uncertainty and pressure, it remains to be seen to what extent the decisions of the "sacrificial minister” will receive the support of the system and will produce the necessary changes.