Submitted for public
review a few days ago, the new legislative package on education includes the
under-graduate education bill and the higher education bill, both officially
endorsed by the government. The main declared goals are to improve the quality
of public education and reduce functional illiteracy.
The under-graduate
education bill provides for compulsory nation-wide evaluations in language and
communication and in maths and science at the end of the second, fourth and
sixth grade. High schools will be able to organise admission tests for maximum
60% of the number of places available, after students have graduated the
compulsory national evaluation.
As for the high school
graduation exam, for humanities students it will include a written test in maths,
physics, chemistry or biology, while science students will also have to prove
that they have acquired basic skills in psychology, sociology, logics, economics
or philosophy.
The higher education bill
increases the Ph.D. studies period from three to four years, with post-grad students
allowed to conduct paid teaching activities.
The line minister, Ligia
Deca, told Radio Romania about the most important changes:
Ligia Deca: In principle, there are reforms aimed at improving the
quality of public education and at reducing functional illiteracy. This
includes increasing the performance of teaching staff and improving the outlook
on and support for the teaching career, with a substantial increase of salaries
and more respect for teachers in society. Basically, the entire salary scheme
in public education will start from the average national wage level, so any
entry-level teacher will have this perspective of a decent salary. We will also
improve the quality of teachers’ training, by introducing a teaching MA
programme, 80% of which will consist of practical activities under the guidance
of a mentor, at various education levels and in various environments, so that
we may have entry-level teachers who are well trained and prepared for the
challenges they will be facing in the classroom. There will be an entire series
of national programmes, one of which will seek to reduce drop-out rates, by
means of providing school supplies, covering commuting costs, healthy meals for
over one million children. Support will also be given in the form of remedial
classes, in order to cover the schooling gaps that unfortunately the pandemic
years left among our children.
As Ligia Deca also said, a
national programme to reduce functional illiteracy will also be in place. By
means of the educational portfolio and annual testing, this programme seeks to
ensure that children no longer leave school with inadequate literacy skill
levels at the PISA test taken at the age of 15. (AMP)