Teacher unions in Romania allegedly urged the education minister to rescind changes enacted in July.
Romania's teachers' unions have voiced strong opposition to the government's first package of reforms, which were introduced in July as part of a fiscal package aimed at cutting public spending. The reforms, which include reducing scholarships, merging small schools, increasing teaching loads, and limiting hourly pay for teachers, have been met with criticism from union leaders who argue that the measures would undermine the quality of education and create job insecurity.
In a meeting with Education Minister Daniel David, the unions communicated their concerns about the contested measures. They demanded cancellation of stipulations in the Austerity Law related to education and threatened to block the start of the school year if their claims are not met. The unions also called for Minister David's resignation and voiced strong opposition to the fiscal-budgetary measures imposed through austerity policies.
Minister David promised to present the teachers' concerns to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and proposed that the measures be abandoned. However, the government's position on maintaining or dropping the reforms remains unconfirmed in the public records accessed. Minister David did not respond to Hotnews.ro's request for comment on the discussions.
The contested measures include provisions that increase teachers' weekly teaching hours, raise the number of students per class, and merge schools with low enrolment. The merger of hundreds of educational institutions, as proposed in the reforms, will lead to layoffs of auxiliary teaching and administrative staff.
The unions argue that the measures will have a negative impact on the quality of education, as teachers will be overworked and class sizes will be too large. They also claim that the merger of schools will lead to job losses and a lack of support for students and teachers in smaller institutions.
Despite the union's resistance, the government has not confirmed plans to drop the contested education reforms. The specific date for the implementation of these changes is not mentioned in the article. The unions have made a commitment to continue their efforts to halt the implementation of the reforms and protect the quality of education in Romania.
[1] Hotnews.ro, "Teachers' unions threaten to block start of school year over education reforms," 5 August 2025. [2] Hotnews.ro, "Teachers' unions demand cancellation of education provisions in Austerity Law," 2 July 2025. [3] Hotnews.ro, "Teachers' unions call for Education Minister Daniel David's resignation," 15 July 2025.
- The teachers' unions in Romania have expressed their strong opposition not only to the education reforms but also to the broader fiscal-budgetary measures, calling for the cancellation of provisions related to education in the Austerity Law and the resignation of Education Minister Daniel David.
- Apart from their concern about education and self-development, the teachers' unions have shown an interest in politics, as they threatened to block the start of the school year and voiced their disapproval of the fiscal-budgetary measures imposed through austerity policies.
