Education - Prime Minister Rejects Return to 18-Hour Teaching Standard

The teaching standard of 20 hours per week, currently in force in Romania, already represents the minimum level practiced in Europe, and returning to 18 hours is not possible, declared Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, in the context of tensions in the education system and warnings from unions regarding a possible general strike.

The Prime Minister stated, live on a TV station, that the decision to increase the standard was a necessary "correction" and stressed that the state must remain realistic regarding financial expectations in education. "The 20-hour standard, which is today in Romania, is a standard at the European minimum level. In Germany, the teaching standard is 24 hours," declared Ilie Bolojan. The Prime Minister explained that, given the budgetary constraints, the main objective for this year is to stabilize the education system and improve quality, not reduce the norm. "We cannot increase budgets substantially from one year to the next. This is the reality, no matter which government comes in,” he added.

• Focus on quality, not just on funding

Bolojan insisted that education reform should not be viewed exclusively from the perspective of financial resources, but also on the way they are used. According to the Prime Minister, the directions of action should include: adapting the education system to economic realities; improving the quality of teaching staff;

monitoring the professional path of graduates; making public funds more efficient. He also suggested introducing performance bonuses for universities, depending on the employment rate of graduates in the field studied. "It is abnormal to finance a faculty with the same amount if its graduates do not work in the field, compared to one where 90% of them work in their specialization," said the prime minister.

• Appointment of a new minister in the coming weeks

In the same context, Bolojan announced that the nomination for the Education portfolio will be made in the coming period and will come from the National Liberal Party. "There will be a nomination in the coming weeks. There are several colleagues in discussion," he specified. The prime minister acknowledged that the position is a difficult one, especially after the unpopular decisions of the last year, including the increase in the teaching norm.