Nicușor Dan says Romania has undervalued knowledge for years

Romanian President Nicușor Dan used the first day of the new school year to criticize the country’s long-running failure to give knowledge and education enough importance.

Speaking at the opening of the school year, Dan said Romania’s education problems included insufficient funding for schools and the status of teachers. He argued that knowledge has a direct connection to prosperity, and that society suffers when it neglects education.

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An error we have made for years is that we do not value knowledge. We are a society that neglects it, and we all suffer because there is a relationship between prosperity and knowledge.

“An error we have made for years is that we do not value knowledge. We are a society that neglects it, and we all suffer because there is a relationship between prosperity and knowledge,” Dan said.

He also linked the education system’s difficulties to years of inadequate funding. “However many speeches we make, the reality is that education in Romania has not received appropriate funding for years. And this has had an effect on our education system,” he said.

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However many speeches we make, the reality is that education in Romania has not received appropriate funding for years. And this has had an effect on our education system.

Dan said the system does not always attract enough people who feel called to teaching. He called for improvements to teachers’ financial standing and thanked educators who, in his view, provide genuine education to children.

The president also addressed parents’ relationship with schools and teachers. He said some parents believe they know better how their children should be educated and how teachers should teach them. He added that society should discuss such issues calmly, including the amount of time children spend on their phones.

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We must also speak just as directly about parents’ attitude toward school.