Romanian Education Min Reassures Tenured Teachers Won’t Be Laid Off

"Ministry officials never meant to destroy existing structures, namely, to sack tenured teachers and thus disband classes. Actually, the ministry wants to turn classes with only 15 pupils into classes with 23 - 25 pupils and take unskilled staff out of the education system," Andronescu said.

 

She pointed out this year’s tenure contest left many vacancies, which will most likely be filled by substitutes. Considering there are skilled and unskilled substitutes, the ministry wants skilled teachers to fill these vacancies.

 

The national union federations "Spiru Haret", FEN and FSLI in the education sector have lately criticized the ministry’s note to scrap nearly 20,000 jobs in the sector, which was sent to all school inspectorates.

 

On July 24, the "Spiru Haret" union federation said it would request the ministry’s note be annulled, while the National Education Federation (FEN) blasted the ministry for having sent the note without any prior talks on the matter with social partners. Furthermore, it warned the ministry against breaching the social partnership and the agreement signed with the unionists in the education sector, in May this year.