Education Unions Accuse Government of "Accelerated Disorganization” of Schools

The Federation of Free Education Unions (FSLI) and the Federation of Education Unions "Spiru Haret” accuse the Government that the austerity measures introduced by Law no. 141/2025 have triggered a process of "accelerated disorganization” of pre-university education and demand the repeal of the normative act. The unions warn that, in the absence of a change of direction, they will intensify the protests, using all available legal forms. In a joint statement, the union organizations demand an end to the reduction of education positions, an increase in the budget allocated to education, proportional to the strategic importance of the field, and the resumption of a real social dialogue with representative partners.

• Crowdered classes, fewer teachers

According to trade unionists, the education system is going through a deep crisis, generated by political decisions taken "irresponsibly", without impact analyses and without consulting the actors in the system. In the midst of the process of developing school plans for the year 2026-2027, inspectorates and schools across the country have reportedly received signals regarding the drastic reduction in the number of classes, including in urban areas. The unions claim that this situation is a direct consequence of the forced increase in the number of students per class, a measure imposed exclusively to reduce budgetary expenses. The impact, warn the teachers' representatives, is major: the quality of the educational act decreases, individualized work with students becomes impossible, and the risk of failure and school dropout increases significantly.

• Over 2,000 teaching positions at risk

According to estimates presented by the unions, over 2,000 teaching positions are threatened solely as a result of the increase in the number of students in the classroom. The direction of reducing spending on education personnel is described as "obvious and constant". "School inspectorates and educational units are forced to apply restrictive measures, without any real solution to protect the primary beneficiaries and teaching staff", the statement says. In the opinion of the unionists, schools are put in a situation of operating without the minimum necessary resources, given that underfinancing education has become a permanent policy.

• Social dialogue blocked and warning of protests

The trade unions also draw attention to the lack of institutional dialogue. According to them, more than two months have passed since a meeting with President Nicuşor Dan was supposed to take place, during which the situation in education was to be presented, in the context of the measures promoted by the Government led by Ilie Bolojan.

"If the Government continues in this direction, we will intensify protest actions and use all legal forms to defend the rights of education employees and the right of children to education", warn FSE "Spiru Haret" and FSLI.