Radio România Internațional

Tag: plagiarism

  • Resignation and plagiarism

    Resignation and plagiarism

    The
    Liberal Sorin Cîmpeanu Thursday night stepped down as education minister, amid
    plagiarism allegations. The announcement of his resignation however made no
    reference to academic fraud accusations. It was an opportunity and an honour
    for me to start a thorough reform of the national education system. I took over
    the ministry not because I had too much free time or to add this position to my
    resume. I came at a very difficult time, with the desire to change things for
    the better, Cîmpeanu posted on his Facebook page.


    The
    outgoing education minister takes pride in drafting the education laws as part
    of a presidential programme entitled ‘Educated Romania,’ and announces he will
    continue to support them as a professor, university rector and a Senator.


    Sorin
    Cîmpeanu is accused of having plagiarised over 90 pages of a university course
    textbook from the work of 2 professors with the University of Agricultural
    Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest. The journalist Emilia Şercan, specialising
    in the investigation of academic fraud, wrote that Sorin Cîmpeanu had
    appropriated 13 chapters published previously under the signature of two other
    professors. The then-minister dismissed the allegations, claiming that they had
    been made by people who were trying by all means to hinder the education laws, and
    whom he described as wholesome illiterates.


    With
    this resignation, Sorin Cîmpeanu also dodged the uncomfortable motion under
    which the Opposition was asking him to step down. Romania educated to cheat. Sorin Cîmpeanu is a disgrace
    to education is the tale-telling title of the motion text. The move has
    now lost all practical significance, but the issue of plagiarism remains a
    plague among politicians, and seems to grow acute. Cîmpeanu’s own party chief,
    the PM Nicolae Ciucă, is himself suspected of plagiarism. And the lure of
    academic fraud sweeps the entire political class, irrespective of parties. A
    former prime minister, the Social Democrat Victor Ponta, was proved to be a
    plagiarist.


    The reform in which Cîmpeanu takes so much pride,
    but which is criticised in many respects, includes a suspicious measure, to say
    the least, namely the dismantling of the National Council Attesting Academic
    Titles, Diplomas and Certificates. The measure is not constructive and
    does not contribute to a true reform of the education sector, argue the leaders
    of several universities. They
    believe the allegations against Sorin Cîmpeanu must be analysed thoroughly, outside
    any kind of pressure, by the relevant bodies of the university in question and
    other public institutions.


    The
    theft will go on, until Romania has implemented in-depth reform, able to return
    education to where it belongs, next to hard work and honesty, says the MEP Dacian
    Cioloş, a former technocratic prime minister. He believes Cîmpeanu’s
    resignation to be a failed act, in that it does not explain the resignation,
    but rather claims only achievements and accomplishments. (AMP)

  • September 28, 2022

    September 28, 2022

    ECONOMY The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has
    upgraded its estimates on Romania’s economic performance in 2022 and 2023, but warns that a significant slow-down is expected next year,
    according to a report made public on Wednesday. According to the new forecasts,
    Romania’s economy is expected to grow by 5.4% this year and 1.9% next year, a
    significant improvement from the 2.9% for 2022 and negative 1.1% for 2023,
    estimated in May. EBRD is a major institutional investor in Romania, running
    nearly 500 projects with a combined budget of close to EUR 10 billion.


    TRADE Trade
    exchanges between Romania and the US reached USD 5.4 billion last year, as
    against USD 2.4 billion in 2011, according to a report released by the American
    Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania, AmCham, as part of the U.S. -
    Romania Economic Forum on Wednesday. Direct and indirect US investment in
    Romania went up from USD 6.5 billion in 2019, to USD 7.5 billion in 2020. The
    US is Romania’s 5th-largest trade partner, accounting for 6.8% of the country’s
    international trade, and the largest outside the EU. The biggest US investments
    in Romania by turnover are in manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare. As
    many as 900 companies in Romania are running on US capital, ranking 3rd after
    Hungary and the Czech Republic.


    PLAGIARISM The University of
    Bucharest says the plagiarism accusations against the education minister Sorin
    Cîmpeanu must be analysed thoroughly, outside any type of pressure, by the
    relevant bodies in the university in question and other public institutions. The
    University condemns any measure that breaches academic ethics and integrity. In
    turn, the National School of Political and Administrative Studies condemns all
    forms of plagiarism and highlights that the education minister’s decision to
    dismantle the National Council Attesting
    University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates is not constructive and does not
    contribute to a true reform of the education sector. On the other hand, USR and Force of the Right MPs, in
    opposition in Romania, have tabled a simple motion entitled Romania
    educated to steal. Sorin Cîmpeanu is a disgrace for education. Plagiarism
    allegations against the education minister have been circulated in the media. Cîmpeanu
    denied the allegations and argued that they are a move to undermine the
    education laws.


    JUDICIARY A special parliamentary committee on the justice laws today
    carries on talks on the draft statute regulating the judge and prosecutor
    professions. On Tuesday, the committee accepted some amendments brought by the
    National Liberal Party (in power) and the Higher Council of Magistrates, but
    dismissed all the amendments tabled by the opposition. USR and AUR parties
    requested changes in judge and prosecutor secondment and delegation procedures,
    and in the procedures for dismissing magistrates. The bill is next to be
    reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies. This is the 3rd act in the
    justice law package to be discussed by the committee, after the ones concerning
    the Higher Council of Magistrates and the organisation of courts, which have
    already been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is the
    decision-making parliamentary body in this respect.


    UKRAINE Ukraine’s foreign ministry Wednesday called for a substantial
    increase of Western military support, one day after the so-called referendums
    regarding the annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions by Russia. The ballots have
    been criticised by a large part of the international community, France Presse
    reports. Kyiv also urged all countries and international organisations to
    condemn Kremlin’s illegal actions in the territories occupied in Ukraine. The
    pro-Russian authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk,
    Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Tuesday announced the votes were in favour of the
    annexation by Russia. In the next stage, Russia’s parliament is to vote on a
    document making the integration of the 4 regions in the Russian Federation
    official. The EU announced it would
    never recognise the results of the referendums. (A.M.P.)

  • February 10, 2022

    February 10, 2022

    Covid-19–Ro — 26,466 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been registered in Romania in 24 hours along with 139 deaths, the authorities informed on Thursday. The highest number of infected people since the beginning of the pandemic – 40,018 – was registered on February 1. On the other hand, the National Public Health Institute in Romania reports that, in the week January 31 – February 6, 51.4% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases were registered in unvaccinated persons. Of the vaccinated people, 43% got contaminated either immediately after immunization or more than six months after the last dose. More than three-quarters (78.2%) of the deaths reported were in unvaccinated people. Since the onset of the pandemic, 86% of all deaths have been in people over 60, and 54.6% of deaths in the male population. According to the National Public Health Institute 93.3% of the deceased had at least one associated comorbidity. All in all, since the outbreak of the pandemic, two years ago, over two million Romanians have been contaminated with the novel coronavirus and over 60,000 have died.



    Covid–19-world — The state of New York on Thursday lifted the obligation of people wearing sanitary masks indoors, including in shops, restaurants and companies, given that the number of COVID-19 contaminations is declining sharply in the United States. In France, the so-called vaccination permit could be lifted in late March or early April, given the improved health situations, and the Czech Republic is largely relinquishing restrictions. Instead, many Britons have canceled their planned trips to Spain during the school holidays in the UK, because the authorities have asked for the full Covid-19 vaccination of children over 12 years of age. People fully vaccinated entering the UK no longer have to take a COVID test, but other countries maintain some of the restrictions, such as antigen or PCR testing or double vaccination, to avoid testing.



    Troops — The first convoy with military equipment, belonging to the American detachment deployed in Romania as part of the US commitment to the allies on NATOs eastern flank, crossed the western border last night and is heading to Mihail Kogalniceanu base in the southeast of the country. In the coming days, part of the one thousand American soldiers who will be deployed in Romania will also enter the country. Earlier, the Romanian defense minister, Vasile Dîncu, had announced that about a hundred specialists had arrived, whose mission was to prepare the deployment of the contingent. Earlier this month, the US decided to send three thousand additional troops on the NATOs eastern flank, one thousand of whom come to Romania and 1,700 to Poland. France has also announced its readiness to send troops to Romania. A NATO member since 2004, Romania already hosts 900 American, 140 Italian and 250 Polish soldiers.



    Plagiarism –Romania General Prosecutors Office has opened a criminal case in which it is conducting investigations, in rem, following a complaint alleging that the Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă plagiarized in his doctoral thesis. Last month, the Carol I National Defense University in Bucharest announced that the procedures for verifying compliance with quality standards and university ethics were initiated in the thesis defended by the current prime minister in 2003. The journalist Emilia Şercan, known as a hunter of plagiarists at the top of Romanian politics and administration, claims that at least 42 pages out of a total of 138 of Nicolae Ciucăs doctoral thesis are plagiarized, and the thesis as a whole is not a product of scientific research. Liberal Nicoale Ciucă is the third PM in Bucharest accused of plagiarizing in his doctoral thesis, after the Social Democrats Victor Ponta and Mihai Tudose.



    Olympics – The Beijing Winter Olympics included eight finals in todays program, figure skating (mens singles), snowboarding (womens halfpipe and mens cross snowboarding), alpine skiing (mens combined), cross-country skiing (10 km womens – classic style), freestyle skiing (mixed team jumping), speed skating (womens 5,000m) and sledding (mixed relay). The only Romanian presence will be in the sledge relay event, in which Raluca Strămăturaru (womens singles), Valentin Creţu (mens singles) and Vasile Marian Gîtlan / Darius Lucian Şerban (doubles) are competing. Romania participates with 21 athletes in the 2022 Olympics, in seven sports: sledding, bobsled, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon and speed skating. (LS)

  • Résumés and political responsibility

    Résumés and political responsibility

    The Romanian minister for research and digitisation, Liberal Florin Roman, has resigned. He left
    the Nicolae Ciucă cabinet less than a month since taking office, following a
    journalist investigation into his education and qualifications.


    According to journalists,
    Florin Roman’s resume includes a B.A. degree he has not obtained, and a
    plagiarised B.A. thesis. Moreover, he claims to have published a book, which is
    not to be found.


    Roman denies the accusations
    and claims he stepped down to make sure the image of the Cabinet is not
    affected. He argues he is the innocent victim of media and political lynching
    tied to deals of tens of billion euros for the implementation of digital solutions
    for the Government. His office is temporarily taken over by the energy minister
    Virgil Popescu.


    Some of the accusations
    made by journalists are backed by the leaders of the Babeş-Bolyai University
    in Cluj-Napoca, who said Florin Roman never received a degree at this
    university, but only a diploma certifying that he attended a college in Alba
    Iulia, near Cluj.


    Florin Roman was also, for
    a while, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, and is one of the most influential
    members of the National Liberal Party. He believes the leader of USR party in
    opposition, Dacian Cioloş, has coordinated the attacks against him, and
    threatened to sue. In response, Dacian Cioloş, who was a prime minister in
    2015-2017, said he was not impressed by the threat, and emphasised that Roman’s
    resignation was a necessary step. Florin Roman is
    no victim. Florin Roman is the representative of a political class
    that destroyed the best Romania had, Dacian Cioloş also said.


    Several high-ranking
    Romanian politicians have been accused of plagiarism in recent years. Perhaps
    the most tale-telling image of this phenomenon came in 2016 from the former
    Social Democratic deputy and Bucharest sector 3 mayor Robert Negoiță, accused
    of plagiarism in his Ph.D. thesis and prosecuted for it at the time, who said, Everybody
    was doing it, so I did, too. Robert Negoiță graduated high-school at the age
    of 31, in 2003, and one year after completing his second university programme
    in 2009 he was already enrolled in a doctoral programme.


    But
    the most resounding plagiarism case in Romanian politics involved the former
    Social Democratic leader, Victor Ponta, who eventually resigned as prime
    minister in 2015, although for different reasons. He was probed into for
    copyright infringements in his Ph.D. thesis, but the Prosecutor General’s
    Office closed the case.


    Other
    politicians accused of plagiarism include ex-PM Mihai Tudose, former deputy PM and
    defence minister Gabriel Oprea, the ex-interior minister Radu Stroe, and former
    defence minister Mihai Stănișoară.


    In
    2020, Romania ranked 69th in the Transparency International’s
    Corruption Perceptions Index. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Plagiarism in the focus again

    Plagiarism in the focus again

    Commonly an exclusive prerogative of academic elites, the originality, authenticity and value of PhD theses has become a topic of debate for the media, public opinion and the political class. On Monday, the Senate of Romania, which is Parliaments decision-making chamber on this matter, decided that a PhD could be withdrawn only by the university that granted it and that the Council for Doctoral Degree Certification would only play the role of an appeal forum.



    On behalf of the technocratic government, the secretary of state with the Education Ministry, Laurentiu Vlad told the Senate that, although at a declarative level the new draft law was aimed at decentralising the PhD decision-granting and withdrawal process, in fact it threatened to undermine the quality of higher education.



    Laurentiu Vlad: “At the moment, there are over 50 institutions accredited to organise doctoral degree programmes in Romania. Some of them are able to take full responsibility in providing doctoral studies, others do not.



    The head of the Education Committee and a former education minister, the Social-Democrat Senator Ecaterina Andronescu retorted that the draft law increased the responsibility of universities and that nowhere in the world is there a separate institution that grants a PhD but a university. Furthermore, the National Council for the Certification of Academic Titles, Degrees and Certificates will still exist as an institution.



    Ecaterina Andronescu: “The Council will be the appeal body for all PhD theses for which the PhD was granted under a ministers order; the PhD can only be withdrawn under a ministers order, so the National Council for Certification is the decision-making forum in case of irregularities.



    President Klaus Iohannis now has to promulgate the amended Education Law as passed by the Senate, although initially he had sent it back to Parliament, warning that there was general distrust in the analysis of plagiarism notifications. Shortly after the Senators had cast their vote, Iohannis described as questionable the hurry in which action had been taken to amend the Education Law with no substantial debates being held, at a time when everybody expected integrity and performance.



    The presidents consternation is shared by the media, all the more so as the Senates vote came three days after the PhD theses of former interior minister Petre Toba and of Florentin Pandele, the mayor of Voluntari, a satellite town of Bucharest, were found to be the outcome of plagiarism. That is the conclusion reached by an expert commission that has analysed the two theses, and confirmed by the Education Ministry last Friday. Dr. Toba and Dr. Pandele thus become a topic of ongoing heated debates in Bucharest on the allegedly plagiarised PhD theses of such public figures as former prime minister Victor Ponta, deputy prime minister Gabriel Oprea or the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi.

  • August 1, 2016 UPDATE

    August 1, 2016 UPDATE

    QUEEN ANNE – Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, known as Queen Anne of Romania, 92, spouse to Romanias former King Michael I, died on Monday in Switzerland. She had long been suffering from cancer. The daughter of Prince René of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margaret of Denmark, she met King Michael in 1947, but the pro-Communist government of the country did not approve the marriage and forced King Michael I to give up the throne on December 30, 1947. The two married the next year. After the fall of the Ceausescu regime, King Michael and Queen Anne were able to return to the country in 1992. Her Majesty Queen Anne will live forever in our hearts and memory as one of the most enduring symbols of wisdom, dignity, and a moral model, said the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. Throughout her honourable life, Anne of Romania was the epitome of the most distinguished values of decency, loyalty and love for her country. Queen Anne stood by His majesty the King during the long exile, and fought together with Him for the progress of Romania. her diplomatic missions and tours in favour of Romanias EU and NATO accession are a proof in this respect, the head of state also said in an official release.



    PLAGIARISM – The former Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta, was stripped of his doctors degree in law. The order came after a final decision of the National Council for the Confirmation of Academic Degrees, which dismissed the appeal and found that the ex-PM resorted to plagiarism and recommended that the Education Minister should withdraw his Ph.D. The Council also ruled that plagiarism had been used by the former interior minister Gabriel Oprea as well. The orders may be challenged in a court of law.




    ELECTIONS – The Romanian citizens living abroad who travel to and from Romania will receive, in airports and checkpoints, a flyer issued by the Foreign Ministry concerning the forthcoming parliamentary elections and how to vote from abroad, as well as a form for registration in the Voter Registry. Information on this autumns legislative election will also be available at the offices of Romanias diplomatic missions and consular offices. To be able to vote in polling stations abroad or by mail, the Romanian citizens who live abroad must enter their data in the Voter Registry before the start of the election campaign.