The Minister of Education confirms in a last-minute statement a series of new fundamental measures for schools throughout Romania, measures that few thought would be imposed too soon in our country, but which will be part of the new education laws.
The Minister of Education talks about the continuation of the ban on teachers giving meditation to students in their own classes, about the increase in teachers' salaries, but also about how salaries will be linked to the teachers' performances, and how they will be evaluated by the authorities.
"The provision (n. ed. regarding the prohibition of teachers to give meditation to students in classes) is currently in a ministerial order from the year 2018. This provision did not have mechanisms by which to ensure that be respected. Not in the order of the minister, not even in the law.
This provision remains in the new law, and verification mechanisms are provided as much as can be foreseen in the education system without entering the sphere of other competences. The measure for teachers who give meditation to students from their own class is provided in the sanctions chapter, the institution that must deal with these checks, the National Commission for School Inspection, is also provided for.
The composition of this National Commission is provided. The conditions are tough enough to avoid any kind of conflict of interest. First of all, there are professionalization criteria, secondly there are experience criteria, a minimum of experience in this field. Thirdly, there are criteria of moral prestige, and there are conflicts of interest that do not allow the members of the commission to make politics.
Without this (increasing teachers' salaries) all other measures are hard to imagine. Certainly yes (n. ed. regarding the introduction of performance criteria), they are introduced. The evaluations will be done by referring to the profile of the teaching staff, which this time is clearly defined on the 3 levels: primary education, middle school education, high school education, because there are differences between them.
The evaluation will be done based on these criteria, and will be done from the perspective of school progress. The evaluation is done from the perspective of how they will fulfill their obligations that will be part of the job description of each teaching staff, and will be part of the new regulation for the organization and operation of pre-university education, and they will have to have an educational portfolio."
