“Even Ceaușescu failed”: Daniel Funeriu calls for major changes to Romania’s education system

Former Education Minister Daniel Funeriu has put forward a package of changes for Romania’s education system before the new school year, including a broader national exam, regulated private tutoring and a push to remove political influence from schools and inspectorates.

Funeriu said the National Assessment should have four compulsory parts: mathematics, Romanian language, science and humanities subjects. For students from national minorities, he proposed a fifth examination in their mother tongue. He also suggested that each high school set weighting coefficients for the results according to its educational track.

Critics may argue that additional examinations would force students to study more. Funeriu’s response was blunt: “Yes, children will have to study more. Isn’t that the role of school?” He said a broader assessment could also increase interest in subjects such as physics, chemistry and history, which currently do not influence the exam in the same way as mathematics and Romanian.

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Yes, children will have to study more. Isn’t that the role of school?

On private tutoring, Funeriu argued that the market should be encouraged within a clear and simple legal framework. He proposed tutoring vouchers for children from poor families and rejected the idea that the practice could be eliminated through bans. “The tutoring market is huge in every country. Even Ceaușescu failed to stop it,” he said.

Funeriu also called on politicians and trade unions to abandon what he described as hypocrisy over political appointments. He said general school inspectors should openly acknowledge their political appointment, while other positions in inspectorates and schools should be fully depoliticized. His wider proposals include clarifying the exam for entry into fifth grade and moving ninth grade into middle school.

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The tutoring market is huge in every country. Even Ceaușescu failed to stop it.