Thousands of substitute teachers have signed a petition demanding that teachers who get high marks in the Tenure Test, but do not find a tenured position in the system, no longer be required to take the exam year after year.
The tenure exam, stressful for quality substitute teachers. The Truth photo
Iulia, Romanian language teacher from Prahova, took the exam 4 times in 7 years, the rest being on parental leave. In the most recent competition, he had an average of 9.14, but he will also be a substitute in the next school year. And next year she will have to go through the emotions of a new stressful exam again, although she demonstrated her ability both in the classroom and at the national competition for teaching positions. Together with 300 other teachers – some of whom took the exam 10-15 times and got top marks -, she raises the alarm about this bizarre situation, which keeps them permanently in a state of professional uncertainty and which it causes well-trained people to leave the education system.
Iohannis held a locked post for 27 years
They initiated a petition requesting that substitute teachers not repeat the exam every year, if they got grades above 7, but also that all vacant positions be unlocked and put out for competition. The perfect example of this blatant situation is that of the president Kalus Iohannis, who held the position of principal at a high school in Sibiu for 27 years, after which he asked for retirement!
The inadequate management of vacancies in pre-university education determines the repetition of this competition, regardless of the candidate’s result, which turns it into a competition without finality, accuse the teachers. Also, the current form of organization of the competition, previously called “tenure”, leads to insecurity on the part of substitute teachers, indirectly affecting students in the teaching process through the repeated change of teaching staff.
What is requested by the teachers’ petition
More than 4,000 people have already signed the petition within days of its launch. But let’s see what the substitute teachers request, in the address with which they will go forward, to the Ministry of Education.
“According to the Framework Methodology regarding the mobility of teaching staff in pre-university education and the National Education Law no. 198/2023, the tenure exam is essential for ensuring quality in education. However, we believe that teachers who have demonstrated adequate competence by obtaining a grade of 7 or above should not be required to retake the examination annually, simply because of a lack of vacancies.
We, the substitutes with high marks in the tenure competition, wish to bring to your attention the following requests for improving the educational system and supporting our professional activity:
1. Elimination of the obligation to take the exam for those who obtained, over time, grade 7, mentioned in the competition methodology.
Substitutes who achieved a grade of 7 in the initial examination should not be required to take the annual examination unless they wish to improve their grade. We believe that a grade of 5 obtained in the current year should not prevail over a grade of 10 obtained in previous years.
Currently, there are substitutes who annually had grades above 7, sometimes even 10, and who, due to the lack of a tenured position, have been supporting this competition for 10-15 years. This change will recognize the merits and skills accumulated by substitutes over time.
2. Establishing a period of validity. That is: the grade obtained in the tenure exam should be valid for an indefinite period. We want teachers NOT to be forced to take the exam again, given the lack of vacant / titular positions in pre-university education.
3. Creation of a system by which teachers who have obtained the tenure grade, according to the methodology in force, but have not found vacant positions, have priority in occupying temporary positions and employment for determined periods.
4. Unblocking positions and putting all vacant hours up for competition;
It is imperative that all vacancies are unlocked and put up for competition. We also request that hourly hours be put up for competition, and not be assigned to school principals until after the beginning of the school year, when no teacher has come to fill them. This measure will contribute significantly to the stability of substitutes and to ensuring continuity in the educational process. Students will benefit enormously from this stability, having the opportunity to work with the same teacher, which will allow for the building of a trusting relationship and ensure consistent academic and emotional development. To be effective in the classroom and to maintain our optimism and commitment, it is essential that we do not face the uncertainty of tomorrow.
5. Abolition of special classroom inspections for substitutes already teaching in the system;
We propose the elimination of special classroom inspections for substitutes who already teach in the system and who have obtained the final and didactic degrees. These inspections should be reserved only for graduates who wish to enter the education system, and their result should no longer influence the final grade, but should be evaluated only on the basis of a pass/fail qualification.
Consequences of repeating the exam annually:
1. Requiring teachers to take the annual exam increases professional stress and uncertainty, affecting their morale and efficiency.
2. It is a waste of resources and time for teachers that could be used for training and course preparation.
3. The repetition of this competition causes well-trained people to leave this system, which does not offer a stable material situation, which leads to a regression of the didactic act”.
Figures and situations that give shivers
* This year, over 37,500 candidates signed up for the 2024 Degree, of which over 6,800 are from the current promotion, the Ministry of Education announced. The number of titular positions also increased, but this was caused by part-time titling, as explained by the Minister of Education, Ligia Deca.
* Professor Nina Vasile explained what the substitute teacher status means in the Romanian education system: “When a man hears “substitute», he thinks of someone who only has high school, who is underqualified, who does not know how to teach, does not manage”.
* In Dolj county, for example, this year in geography there were 28 candidates and no tenured position. In English, there were 52 candidates and zero tenured positions.
* According to Edupedu.ro, in the last school year the largest number of substitute teachers was registered, in the last 5 years, teaching in schools in Romania: almost 44,600 teaching staff were employed for a fixed period, in the 2023-2024 school year .
