Education Minister: Schools need to be "cleaned" of drugs and violence

Daniel David, Minister of Education and Research, stated at the V.R.E.M. educational conference in Târgu Jiu that the problem of drug use and violence in schools requires interventions at several levels, not just from educational institutions.

"Schools need to be cleaned up - not us, but the Ministry of the Interior and local authorities must intervene: no dealers, no drugs. Those with aggressive behavior must be monitored and asked what they do," the minister said. David emphasized that responsibility is shared: "Everyone is somehow wrongly expecting that only the school will do something. We have tens of thousands of activities every year, but often we don't do them well."

• Training for teachers, clear mechanisms for students

The minister emphasized the need to train teachers to detect early signs of drug use, and students must be taught to recognize such behaviors and report them through clear mechanisms. "We need an organizational culture in school that promotes values opposed to violence and drug use - not just in theory, but assumed. School regulations must be known by parents and students. Reporting is not a crime, it is a gesture of responsibility," he added.

• Anonymous reports to encourage reporting

To support an anti-violence and anti-drug culture, the minister announced that next week he will sign an order that will allow anonymous reports in cases of violence or substance use. "Many hesitate to make a signed report, for fear of reprisals. So we will allow anonymous reports. The problems are not limited to teachers' behavior towards students, but also the other way around - we also have cases of violence by students against teachers," he said. David warned that, despite the existing legislative framework, Romania is facing a battle of forms without substance: "We keep creating rules, but we don't implement them. We need to build content and work together."

The V.R.E.M. conference, held at the "Elvira Godeanu" Dramatic Theater in Târgu Jiu, had as its theme "Standardization of Education" and was organized by teacher Dana Constantinescu from the "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" National College. The event was attended by students, teachers and representatives of the authorities.

• Loss of vision

Asked about the biggest mistake made in the education system in the last 30 years that could have been avoided, the minister spoke about "loss of vision": "It seems to me that, gradually, we lost our vision, in the sense that each minister wanted to make various reforms and what he had before started to graft on, one did something more, one slipped something in, one changed something again, so that, keeping the proportions and context, at some point I have the impression that we are like a Frankenstein, that is, we move, we walk, but we don't know when we get stuck. I think this is a problem. We have to ask ourselves what the system should look like and I said what I think it should look like - children who, when they leave our system, value their intelligence and creativity in the eight key skills, simplify them - good specialists, (...) good citizens (...) and people satisfied with their own lives. If we succeed "If we do this, it means that we will have graduates who can decide whether to enter the labor market or continue their studies." Daniel David also reiterated the issue of functional illiteracy, which he said scares him and is a national security risk.