yet another education law in romania ioan jurca politehnica university of timisoara, romania daad...

DAAD Workshop, Ohrid, August 22-27, 2011

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Yet another education law in Romania

Ioan Jurca“Politehnica” University of Timisoara, Romania


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Agenda „State of the nation” Laws of education since 1990 „Behind the scenes” of the new law General characteristics of the law Principles of the law Financing the educational system K-12 education Higher education Statute of academic personnel Conclusions


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„State of the Nation”(1)

Romania was hit hard by the global crisis, especially since second half of 2009

Country contracted a 20 billion euros loan from MIF, WB, and EU

Now a new „stand-by” loan of approx. 6 billion euros

Starting on July 1, 2010, all salaries in public sector were reduced by 25%

Since January 1, 2011 the reduced salaries are increased by 15% (i.e. 11.25% of initial value)

VAT increased from 19% to 24%

Subsidies for low-income families were reduced


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„State of the Nation”(2)

A new tax was introduced on pensions (initial idea: reduce pensions by 15%)

There is growing inflation, due to increased prices of foods and utilities (~8%)

Technically we are 'out of recession, but not out of crisis'

There is a 'unitary law on salaries' for public sector, with a special law for 2011

Approx. 100,000 jobs must disappear in the public sector

Unemployment rate is under 10%, but approx. 2 million Romanians work abroad (mainly in Italy and Spain)

Educational system underfunded in the last 3 years


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Laws of Education since 1990

More than 10 ministers of education in 20 years, one of them twice

Many ministers wanted to 'reform' education and promote 'their' law

Education was always officially considered a 'national priority'

Official name of ministry varied, usually including, beside education, research, youth, sport

We had 3 government decisions dealing with the educational system in 1990, 1991 and 1993, a law of education in 1995 modified several times and a new law in 2011

There was also a law named „Statute of educational personnel” (1997)

A law voted unanimously by Parliament in 2008 to increase salaries in education by 50% was never applied


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„Behind the scenes” of the new law

A Presidential commision analyzed the educational system and made a series of recommendations

The new law is based, in principle, on such recommendations

It was adopted while another version of the law was still debated in the Senate, in the procedure called „assuming responsibility of the Government”

Many provisions of the law intend to eliminate corruption and are viewed sometimes as politically motivated

Trade unions and many rectors complained that the form proposed by the Government was not publicly debated (or not enough)

The present minister of education has never worked in the Romanian educational system


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General characteristics of the law It regulates all forms of education: K-12, higher education,

public, private and confessional institutions It consists of 7 titles (with chapters and sections), 365 articles

and an appendix, and is printed on 63 pages of the „Official Monitor”

Some articles of the law are applied immediately, while others will be applied only in 3-4 years from now

To be applied, it needs tens (or hundreds) of government decisions and ministerial orders, which are still being elaborated

Titles: General dispositions; Pre-university education; Higher education; Statute of educational personnel;Lifelong education; Juridical responsibility; Transitory and final dispositions


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Principles of the law Equality (non-discrimination), quality, relevance, efficiency Decentralization, public responsibility Guarantees for cultural identity of all Romanian citizens

and for intercultural dialogue Academic autonomy, academic freedom Freedom of thought non-dependence of ideologies,

religious dogmas, political doctrines Decisions must be based on dialogue and consultation Respecting the right of opinion of students as direct

beneficiaries of the educational system


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Financing the educational system Anually minimum 6% of GDP from the national budget and

budgets of local authorities (plus own income); 1% of GDP for research (from the national budget)

Public education is free of charge; for some activities taxes can be charged

On a yearly basis the ministry calculates the standard cost per pupil/student and funds are allocated for all pupils/students in the public system, but also in accredited private and confessional schools

Government offers support for education in Romanian in countries where there are Romanian communities, in accordance with the legislation of those countries

The state offers support for pupils with social/special problems


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K-12 Education (1) The general compulsive education lasts 10 years and consists of primary and

gymnasium education; higher secondary (lyceum) education will become compulsory until 2020

Religion is included as a subject, but at the request of parents or the pupil (if(s)he is major) pupils can be exempted from this subject

Pupils can be transferred between schools with the acceptance of the receiving school

Structure:– Early education (0-6 years of age) with a)ante-kindergarten(0-3) and b) kindergarten– Primary education: preparatory grade and grades I-IV– Secondary education: gymnasium (grades V-IX) and lyceum (grades X-XII/XIII, with 3 lines:

theoretical, vocational and technological)– Professional education (between 6 months and 2 years)– Non-university tertiary education (post-lyceum)


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K-12 Education (2) National minorities have the right to study and be educated in

their language at all levels, types, and forms of pre-university education; all subjects are taught in their language, except Romanian language and literature

It is possible to organize excellence centers for gifted children It is also possible to organize „schools after school” programs, in

partnership with local authorities and parents All forms of schools must be accredited and periodically evaluated Size of classes: 5(7)9 for ante-kindergarten, 10(15)20 for

kindergarten, 12(20)25 for primary education, 12(25)30 for gymnasium, 15(25)30 for lyceum, 15(25)30 for post-lyceum, 8(10)12 for slightly impaired children, and 4(5)6 for heavily-impaired children


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K-12 Education (3) There is a national curriculum, consisting of a common part (compulsory

subjects) and an optional part Number of hours/week: 20 for primary education, 25 for gymnasium, and 30

for lyceum Compulsory subjects cover 80% of the subjects in compulsory education and

70% in lyceum For each subject 75% of the time is dedicated to the common syllabus 8 domains of key competences: communication in Romanian and mother

tongue;communication in foreign languages; basic mathematics, sciences and technology; information technology; social and civic; antreprenorial; 'sensibility and cultural expression'; learning how to learn

Schoolbooks (manuals) are designed and evaluated based on syllabuses approved by the Ministry of education; teachers select and recommend to pupils the manuals they will use

There is a Virtual School Library and an e-Learning School Platform


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K-12 Education (4) There is a first evaluation at the end of the preparatory grade, of the physical,

socio-emotional, cognitive, communication development, and of the capabilities for learning. This starts the 'educational portfolio' of the child

At the end of second grade: evaluation of basic competences: reading-writing, mathematics („The 3 Rs”)

At the end of IV-th grade: a national-level evaluation „by sampling” of basic competences, after the model of international tests

At the end of VI-th grade: two transdisciplinary tests: language and communication, and mathematics and sciences

At the end of IX-th grade: national evaluation of all pupils: Romanian language and literature (written test);mother tongue(written); transdisciplinary mathematics and sciences (written); foreign language (written); computer usage (practical,during the school year); transdisciplinary civic and social competences (oral, during schoolyear)

At the end of lyceum: national bacalaureat with 5 tests: A)oral communication in Romanian; B) oral communication in mother tongue; C)communication in 2 foreign languages; D) digital competences; E) writen tests in: Romanian language and literature; mother tongue; 2 tests specific for each profile (real, humanistic, technological, vocational)


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Higher Education (1) All higher education institutions(HEI) (public, private, confessional) are

'personae juris', non-profit, of public interest and non-political All must have temporary authorization or be accredited Foreign HEI legally recognized in their country of origin can organize alone or in

partnership with Romanian accredited HEI, branches in accordance with Romanian law; similar for Romanian HEI

Mission of HE: initial and continual high-level education; scientific research, development, inovation, and technological transfer

Public HE is free of charge for the number of students approved each year by the government and with a tuition fee over that number

University autonomy can only be exercized with acceptance of public accountability

Public accountability means: obeyance of law, own charta, national and European policies for HE; applying quality assurance and evaluation procedures; managerial efficiency; transparency of decisons; respect of academic freedom of personnel, students rights and freedoms

Ministry can act if public accountability is violated: revoke the rector, reduce financing, dismantle university


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Higher Education (2) Structure of HEI: faculties, departments, institutes, centers or laboratories,

design units, consultancy centers, university clinics, artistic studios, theaters, musea, centers for continuous education, units of microproduction and services, experimental farms

A faculty is the functional unit which develops and manages study programs, and includes one or more domains of sciences, arts or sports. Must be proposed by the university senate and approved by a decision of the government

A faculty can include: departments, doctoral schools, post-university schools A department is the functional academic unit which ensures the production,

transmission and valorification of knowledge in one or more domains; is approved, organized, divided, merged or eliminated by the university senate

Academic year starts on the first working day of October and includes 2 semesters of 14 weeks each; after each semester there is a period of mininum 3 weeks for exams

Studies are grouped in study domains and organized in 3 cycles: bachelor, master and doctorate

Bachelor studies can be: full time, part time, distance education; master studies: full time or part time; doctoral studies: only full time


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Higher Education (3) Admission: a framework methodology approved by the ministry, special

provisions of universities; can charge taxes Graduation exams: diploma exam for bachelor; dissertation exam for master;

public defence of doctoral thesis Only accredited HEI can organize graduation exams Supervisors of theses are responsible together with the authors about the

originality of theses' contents Semester exams are graded with integer marks from 10 to 1, with 5 as

minimum passing grade ECTS system is applied in bachelor and master studies, with 60 credits for an

academic year; total number of credits for bachelor+master must be at least 300

Doctoral students are employed by the university as research or teaching assistants

Supervisors of doctoral studies can be those who obtained the right before present law, or those who obtain 'certificat d'abilitation' and have the degree of at least assistant professor (maximum 8 students/supervisor)


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Higher Education (4) Committee for public defence of doctoral thesis: at least 5 members, at least

two of them from outside the university (including other countries) Qualification for the thesis: excellent, very good, good, satisfactory and non-

satisfactory Maximum 15% of candidates in a year (per university) can be awarded

'excellent' Doctoral degree must be validated by a special structure of the ministry, and

is awarded by a ministerial order Universities are evaluated for two purposes: temporary authorization and

accreditation; establishement of a hierarchy of study programs and of universities

3 categories of universities: education-centered; education and research; advanced research and education.

Leadership bodies: senate and administration council (university); faculty council; department council

Leadership functions: rector, vice-rector, general administrative director; dean, vice-dean; department director


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Statute of academic personnel(1) Degrees in education: teaching assistant; assistant professor; associate

professor; professor Degrees in research: research assistant, researcher, researcher 3rd degree,

researcher 2nd degree, researcher 1st degree Departments propose 'functions lists' consisting of education degrees and

number of positions for each degree Education degrees and number of positions are established based on:

curricula of educational programs; number of study groups; university norms Function lists are advised by the faculty councils and approved by university

senate A 'university norm' consists of education norm(lectures, seminars,labs,

supervising diplomas, disertations, doctoral studies, evaluation, tutoring, membership in bodies and committees) and research norm

Education norm: 7 conventional hours/week for a professor (minimum 4 hours of lectures), 8 for associate professor (4 for lectures), 10 for assistant professor(2 for lectures), 11 for teaching assistants (conventional hour: seminar/lab hour; 1 lecture hour=2 conventional hours)


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Statute of academic personnel(2) For master studies a seminar hour is 1.5 conventional hours, and a lecture hour

is 2.5 conventional hours; for teaching in a foreign language: multiply by 1.25 The university senate can increase the weekly norm, but it cannot be higher

than 16 conventional hours/week (for those that do not have research activity) The total number of hours per week must be 40 For activities over the norm, the personnel is payed 'by the hour', but not more

than one minimal education norm. Professors and associate professors who in the last 6 years had research grants

can have a sabatical year Those elected or named in positions in public institutions can still teach for no

more than one education norm The retirement age for academic and research personnel is 65. University senate can aprove continuation of activity after retirement age on a

yearly basis, with payment by the hour


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Statute of academic personnel(3) Doctoral supervisors can continue to supervise doctoral theses until the age

of 70. They can co-supervise new doctoral students only with somebody who is not retired

An academic position can be obtained only by public competition. There are minimal standards for each degree

People related up to the third degree cannot function in the same university if one of them is in a position of authority in relation to the other

Academic personnel is evaluated on intervals of maximum 5 years. It is compulsory to include evaluation by the students of the educational activity. The results of evaluation are public information.

Payed holiday is minimum 40 working days, during student vacations Distinctions: merituos gradation (25% of basic salary) for 5 years, for not

more than 16% of positions; orders and medals Sanctions: written admonestation; reduced salary; interdiction for a certain

period to participate in competition for a new postion; removal from a postion of authority within university; dismissal.


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Conclusions The new law is comprehensive, framework for all kinds of educational

activities Many dispositions can only be applied in the future, some over 4 years; it is

not clear whether a new government will not try to change the law until then

It regulates more clearly some controversial points, like number of norms covered by a person

Now in a university only the director of department, the dean, and the rector are elected; other functions are nominated by the dean or rector

A very controversial disposition: a rector cannot have another public position or a leadership position in a political party

In higher education it is very difficult to hire young people on entry positions, and now a large number of professors were retired

For the moment it is not possible to organize competition for associate professors and full professors

The new law created quite a stirr in education, it is not clear how it will work

yet another education law in romania ioan jurca politehnica university of timisoara, romania daad...

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