Teachers still do not know how they will grade students as school year begins

Romania’s new school year has begun with teachers still unsure how they will grade students from Monday onward. The opening has brought unresolved questions over textbooks, scholarships, high-school admissions and practical guidance for new national assessment standards.

Cătălin Nan, president of the National Parents Federation Edupart, said authorities had not prepared adequately for the start of classes. The shortage of textbooks remains one of the recurring problems. Ninth-grade students will begin the year without the new printed books, adding to uncertainty that parents say has affected the start of school repeatedly.

Scholarships have also been a point of discussion. Nan said meetings with government officials and the education minister resulted in a promise to keep the allocated amount unchanged, despite an initial plan to pay scholarships only during the school year. Parents argued that families begin spending in August on books, uniforms and school supplies.

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The new school year begins with more problems than in previous years, but the textbook situation is not new.

“The new school year begins with more problems than in previous years, but the textbook situation is not new,” Nan said. He added that parents had managed to preserve the same scholarship amount after explaining the costs families incur before classes begin.

The rules for high-school admission remain unsettled. Parliament has not yet held a final Senate vote, but Nan said he was optimistic that lawmakers would repeal the law allowing separate entrance examinations. He said PSD, PNL and AUR had aligned behind repeal rather than postponement. The article ends while quoting Nan’s expectations about the Senate vote.

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I do not expect anything good in education.