Education unions ask Prime Minister Bolojan to retract claims about teaching quota

The three major education union federations - the Federation of Free Education Unions (FSLI), the "Spiru Haret” Federation and the "Alma Mater” Federation - condemn Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's statements that teaching quotas have decreased in recent years. The unions state that: Teaching quotas have remained constant in recent decades and are among the highest in the European Union; The Prime Minister's statements are "false and manipulative”, distorting the public perception of teachers' work; Romanian teachers work harder than their EU colleagues, but with considerably lower salaries; Additional tasks - correcting papers, preparing lessons, advising students, extracurricular activities - remain unregulated and poorly paid.

Trade unionists accuse the Bologna Government of underfunding education, the loss of over 700 million euros from the PNRR and the adoption of Law No. 141/2025, which they consider "a blow to the state system". They warn that in the next five years, with the massive retirement of teachers, the lack of qualified substitutes will lead to an acute crisis of teachers: "Public opinion must know that, in recent decades, the teaching workload has been constant, and now, using false data, it has reached among the highest in the EU, given that the work of teachers in Romania is much more complex than that of teachers in most other EU member states, states where salaries are also much higher! In addition, the demands and pressures on teachers have constantly increased, amid continuous "reforms" (but without any purpose) and funding below the minimum European standards. Before making such a disqualifying statement for a dignitary of such rank, perhaps the Prime Minister should have checked why over 700 million euros from the PNRR were lost and said who is guilty of such indolence, being thus depriving a substantial amount of a field with so many needs, such as the educational system. Mr. Ilie Bolojan knows that such an (untrue) statement, launched by an authoritative figure, distorts the public's perception of the work of teachers, and his intention was clear: to falsely justify these austerity measures taken without any consultation and without impact studies. Mr. Prime Minister should have known that a teacher's work is not limited to teaching hours. Correcting papers, preparing lessons, assessing students, counseling hours and extracurricular activities are a vital component of the work norm and are, most of the time, unregulated and not properly remunerated. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan should, out of decency towards the hundreds of thousands of teachers, publicly retract these statements and initiate a real dialogue based on concrete data and a correct understanding of the needs in the education system.

• Announced protest calendar

Trade unionists announce picketing of the Ministries of Education and Research: August 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 (intervals between 10:00 and 12:00, depending on the day). Rallies in Piaţa Victoriei:

September 3, 4 and 5 (12:00 - 13:00). Rally and march to Cotroceni: September 8 (11:00 - 16:00).

Starting from the statements "Education is not a problem, but a solution! Education is not an expense, but an investment!”, trade unionists ask the prime minister to withdraw the public statements and initiate a real dialogue, based on official data.