The Minister of Education discussed in a press conference about the new decisions for schools all over Romania, they come in the context where these days the authorities start distributing saliva tests for students and educational units, and parents could be invited by the authorities to show them the benefits of testing.
The Minister of Education also talks about the fact that video materials will be made to present how the correct testing is done, but also that although physical presence is his main objective during this period, testing is not mandatory and responsibility matters for the administration of the tests and the announcement of the results.
"We have discussed this aspect at the level of the county school inspectorates and yes, it is a welcome thing, but it depends on each individual school, because as I told you, there are schools from which we received signals that there are teachers who want to get involved in testing , as there are many other schools where the teachers do not consider that they have this duty, they do not consider that they can administer these tests.
It is important to realize as soon as possible, and I thank the Minister of Health for the availability, that supporting video material from which everyone can understand that it is an extremely simple process of administering the tests, that they can be self-administered, as we have seen for a long time in many European countries.
Physical presence was the main objective of this mandate that I concluded in November, that is, education with physical presence in health protection conditions. Not all decisions were made by the Ministry of Education, but this was my objective.
Where the school does not decide to administer the tests in school, the testing will be done at home, under the supervision of parents, legal guardians, or an adult.
The order of the Minister, Health and Education, does not provide for the obligation of testing, nor the obligation of teaching staff to administer the tests. Those who want, and can, administer these tests, can do so. The only difference is that administration by someone other than parents requires parental consent for testing.
As there is no mandatory testing, we cannot ensure the validity of the tests done at home. What we can do is a call for responsibility to administer these tests, to announce the results of these tests in time and correctly, because it is in the interest of every child and every parent."
