Nearly 169,000 youths are taking the baccalaureate exam in the
June-July 2015 session in Romania, 7,000 more than during the same session last
year. Some 144,000 candidates, (77%) are from this year’s batch and nearly
25,000 (23%) are from the batches of previous years. The exam started on June 8th
with the 3-day oral test of linguistic communication skills in Romanian. It was
followed by the test of digital skills and the test of the knowledge of a
language of international circulation. The written exams started on June 29th
with the test of knowledge of the Romanian language and literature. The first
results will be made known on July 6th and the final ones on July
10th after the challenges filed by the candidates to the marks received. This
year, the written tests will be corrected in counties different from the ones
where the exams are taken, but the way of organizing the exams are not changed.
Education Minister, Sorin Campeanu told a press conference that the measure
was laid down in the Methodology of the baccalaureate exam organization and
unfolding as early as 2011. Sorin Campeanu:
The student can’t be
interested, he or she isn’t interested in the place where the tests are
corrected. The teacher isn’t and can’t be interested but in the number of tests
he or she has to correct and not in the place where the tests come from and in
their author. The system is already a common one because the challenges filed
by the candidates were already appraised in other counties. The baccalaureate
commissions have to carry out an additional activity and we are responsible for
that. I’m confident that the candidates will obtain good results and it’s a
pity that certain results should be the object of suspicion that most of the
times is wrong.
There are voices saying that the
possibility of favouring certain students will be done away with if the tests
are corrected in other counties. However, those challenging the measure believe
that it is a waste of time and money. Furthermore, the teaching staff,
suspected of numerous irregularities in recent years, bribe taking included,
would be incriminated even more. Meanwhile, since the beginning of last week, a
new Education Law has been drafted, laying emphasis on reestablishing technical
schools, vocational schools and technical post high schools. According to the
state secretary at the Education Ministry, Vasile Salaru, in drafting the new
law, ministry officials plan to consult with unionists, school inspectors and
the population through a referendum to be held concurrently with the local
elections scheduled in 2016.