Government unlocks hundreds of positions in new nurseries

The Ministry of Education announced that the Executive has approved a memorandum through which 303 vacant positions in nurseries recently built through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), respectively through the National Program for Construction of Public or Social Interest, are put up for competition. The decision comes at a time when the education system is simultaneously facing the pressure of new infrastructure and the lack of specialized human resources. The Minister of Education, Daniel David, emphasizes that the approval of the positions represents a sign of confidence in the direction of reform, despite the complicated period from a fiscal point of view. "The fact that, still in conditions of fiscal-budgetary crisis, the Romanian Government has unlocked these positions is something that makes me happy and adds to another similar approach from August, when 422 positions were approved, confirming my vision that, once through the fiscal-budgetary storm, education must enter the stabilization and development phase", states the minister.

• At stake: early education and the lack of qualified personnel

Increasing the capacity of the early education system is one of the priority directions of the reform assumed through the PNRR. In the last two years, Romania has built a record number of modern, modular or highly energy-efficient nurseries, but the filling of positions has evolved slowly, especially in large urban centers and in areas where the labor market is already tense. Minister Daniel David emphasizes that early education is not just an administrative stage, but a fundamental process for the entire educational journey of the child.

"Early childhood education is an essential component of education, the place where the premises for the eight key skills are formed, which will be developed and oriented towards specialization at the other educational levels," says the minister. According to him, in addition to investment in infrastructure, "the main vector is the training and development of human resources", that is, the recruitment and professionalization of educators, assistants and auxiliary staff. The Government's decision comes a few months after the first round of approval, the one in August, when 422 positions were opened for nurseries in the process of operationalization. The new tranche raises the total of positions approved in recent months to 725, signaling, according to the ministry, an acceleration of the process of functionalizing the new infrastructure. The context remains, however, difficult. Romania is facing an acute shortage of personnel in the early childhood education sector, especially among caregivers and child-care educators, where salaries are still relatively low compared to the level of responsibility. The approval of the positions is only the first stage: the competition procedures, the geographical distribution of candidates and, in some cases, the temporary recalibration of staffing norms for the nurseries to be opened in 2025 follow.