Education Minister warns that the current system can no longer continue in its current form

The fiscal-budgetary measures adopted by the Government have shaken the old structures of the Romanian education system and brought to the surface the deep problems of education, declared the Minister of Education and Research, Daniel David, during a conference organized by the National Federation of Parents - EDUPART, at the Parliament. "The fiscal-budgetary measures have challenged the old paradigms, they have brought to the surface things that we have had until now and it is time to decide whether or not to change the paradigms in the coming years”,

the Minister stated. The Minister of Education acknowledged that the Romanian education system is one "with lights and shadows”, in which half of the students are in the area of functional illiteracy - a serious indicator of curricular inefficiency and lack of adaptation to the real needs of the students. "When 50% of children are in the functional illiteracy zone, it means that the current system can no longer continue like this. We need to change paradigms," Daniel David stressed.

The minister added that the recently adopted fiscal-budgetary measures allowed for the saving of teachers' salaries and student scholarships for the current year, but also for the creation of financial mechanisms that would allow for the request for additional funds in the future.

• Reorganization of the school network and the issue of mergers

Referring to the process of merging school units, the minister acknowledged that it was carried out "fast-forward", and is currently in the reorganization phase. He rejected the idea that the reforms would lead to overcrowding of classes, stating bluntly: "This nonsense about overcrowding classes is no longer valid." David explained that increasing the teaching norm by two hours for teachers does not represent a drastic change, but a necessary adjustment in the current context, to ensure the balance between efficiency and financial sustainability. Another sensitive issue addressed by the minister was the system of scholarships awarded to students. Daniel David criticized the way in which they were distributed in the past, emphasizing that scholarships should reward genuine performance and not become an artificial mechanism to encourage school attendance. "70% of children had, at some point, at least one type of scholarship. (...) Scholarships are not given to pay children to come to school or to pay them to study well. Scholarships are given to help those in difficulty and to reward those who study well and who enjoy learning.” Daniel David advocated for a profound curricular reform, focused on teaching in curricular areas and on developing real skills, not just on memorizing information.

In his opinion, Romania must abandon the rigid model of teaching in isolated subjects and adopt an integrated approach, which prepares students for a complex and interconnected world. "If we do not make the paradigmatic changes, what will things look like in ten years? I think that teaching from the same curricular area is a good thing,” the minister concluded. The minister's statements come at a tense moment, when education unions and parents criticize the way in which the reforms are being implemented, and teachers are faced with an increasing volume of work, under limited financial and logistical conditions. Despite these tensions, Daniel David insists that the paradigm shift is inevitable - not only for the efficiency of the system, but also for the credibility of Romanian education in a competitive European context.