The draft laws on education are to be debated by the Committee in the Chamber of Deputies

RADIO ROMANIA NEWS - The period for submitting amendments to the draft laws on education, which are to be debated by the Education Commission in the Chamber of Deputies, has ended. Today was the last day, after last week the members of the commission had meetings with representatives of teachers, parents, pupils and students, but also with members of the academic and business communities, as well as with local authorities. The Minister of Education was present at these discussions. Starting tomorrow, all the articles and amendments will be analyzed one by one, with a view to drawing up a commission report, which has a deadline of April 26.

Catalin Purcaru reports: "The social democrats propose that the evaluation be done through a single exam and that the percentage regarding the averages of secondary school classes is no longer taken into account for the calculation of the general average. Natalia Intotero, the president of the Education Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, comes up with a solution for high schools that want to organize classes with a certain profile.

Natalia Intotero: "They can organize such classes with a skills exam beforehand, the subjects should be done at national level. This skills test should be given before the assessment exam. Declare those admitted based on results, in descending order."

The social democrats also want an accessible baccalaureate exam, with a single foreign language for the oral test, and a differentiated exam for the written test, depending on the profile. From the opposition, USR submitted more than 200 amendments to the drafts of the new education laws. Senator Stefan Palarie says that this comes as a result of the debates with civil society.

Stefan Palarie: "We cannot talk about reform in education as long as children who cannot afford private lessons are abandoned by a system that introduces a discriminatory entrance exam to high schools. We cannot talk about a reform without a real solution to the problem of private lessons and poverty in the country, like the solution given by USR - <School from eight to five>."

The debate on the new education laws is scheduled for tomorrow, 2:00 p.m., in the specialized committee in the Chamber of Deputies, as the first forum referred to.

Translated by: Radu Matei