We are at the beginning of the school year and it comes with some of the most important changes of the last 30 years. The Romanian education system tries to align itself with European standards by adopting a series of regulations that work perfectly “outside”.
The 2024-2025 school year is coming with major changes. Photo source: The Truth
Detention room
Students who disturb the lessons may be invited by the teachers to the detention room. It is about a classroom where children will follow all kinds of educational activities. Here students can read, solve certain activity sheets, do their homework for the next day or work on different projects for school. It is one of the most controversial decisions and has given rise to extremely heated discussions, especially among parents. While some agree with the new coercive measure, others are totally against it. The latter fear that some teachers may abuse the new power that has been given to them and take revenge on certain students. Sending students to the detention room is a recommendation of the ministry, and not an obligation imposed on teachers. Therefore, it is up to them whether they will use this method of punishment or not. Even school principals don’t really see this measure with good eyes. They complain about the lack of space for setting up this room, but also about the lack of staff to supervise the children. Iuliana Constantinescu, the president of the Federation of Parents from Sector 2 of the Capital, told “Adevărul” that she is basically returning to education with the whip. “I see a desire to start over-punishing children. It seems to me that we are moving very much in this direction, to find methods of sanction, given that today’s generations can no longer be educated with the whip and given that we do nothing to prevent violence and aggression in schools” , said the parent.
Prohibition of cell phones during class
Starting this new school year, students are prohibited from using cell phones in class. Exceptions are situations where the teacher gives his consent, and the activity is educational. LiGia deca announced the other day that this ban remains at the discretion of the schools: either students will no longer be allowed to enter the school with their phones at all, or they will no longer be allowed to use them only in class. In the case of the latter, the school must provide some boxes or boxes where children can leave their devices. The parents, most of them, agree with the imposition of these measures, as well as the teachers who have been asking for this rule for many years. “The children no longer know how to socialize, they no longer know how to be friends, they no longer know how to give kick a ball. We no longer say that their performance at school decreases, because they are no longer attentive in class, they can no longer concentrate. And we, as teachers, can no longer capture their attention. They are addicted to mobile phones”, Carmen Ștefan, director of the “Mihai Bravu” Technical College in Bucharest, told us.
School uniforms could become compulsory
This year we could witness a first of the last 30 years: the mandatory introduction of uniforms in schools. It is a measure that is currently being debated in the Senate and that is expected and decizai is eagerly awaited especially by the students. They do not want “uniformization”, Cătălin Nan, the president of the Federation of Parents, told us, but the school principals are determined to impose a mandatory outfit as soon as possible. Andreia Bodea, director of the IL Caragiale National College, stated that the uniform would reduce the phenomenon of bullying, especially in high schools. There are more and more schools that face bullying related to the way students who have less financial possibilities dress. There are more and more children who suffer terribly due to the fact that they cannot dress as well as their peers”, the headmistress told us. “In Caragiale high school we will propose a standard outfit: shirt, blouse, t-shirt, pants or skirt in dark colors. We will establish in great detail what an indecent, inappropriate outfit means,” the teacher added.
Students will rate their teachers on the feedback sheet
This year, feedback given by children to teachers was introduced in the Student Status. It is about a questionnaire aimed at the activity of the teachers in the classroom and which the students will complete at the end of the school year. They will be able to give grades based on how satisfied they were with the teachers’ performance in the classroom. However, such a measure is not viewed favorably by certain teaching staff. “”I tell you honestly: about 75% of students appreciate a teacher who doesn’t teach them anything, instead gives them 10’s. It is therefore very important how such a measure is implemented, because there can be positive measures, but the way they are applied should be exactly the opposite. Measures that in theory are correct and good, but in practice are a failure”, Corneliu Riegler, director and professor of History at the Bilingual National College “George Coșbuc” in Bucharest, told Adevărul.
The baccalaureate will start in the winter and end in the summer
The 2024-2025 school year is the year of big changes in terms of national exams. The baccalaureate has undergone major changes. Thus, the oral exams will be held in the winter, in January and February, and the written exams in the summer, in June.
Baccalaureate 2025 calendar, winter exams
December 16 – 20, 2024: Registration of candidates to take tests A, B, C, D
January 27 – 29, 2025: Evaluation of oral communication skills in Romanian – test A
January 29 – 31, 2025: Evaluation of oral communication skills in the mother tongue – test B
February 3 – 5, 2025: Assessment of language skills in an internationally spoken language – test C
February 5 – 7, 2025: Evaluation of digital skills – test D
May 30 – June 4, 2025: Taking tests A, B, C, D by students receiving scholarships to study abroad, who cannot participate in the Baccalaureate between January 27 and February 7
Baccalaureate 2025 calendar, summer exams
June 2 – 6, 2025: Registration of candidates for the written tests of the first exam session
June 6, 2025: End of classes for the 12th/13th grade
June 10, 2025: Romanian language and literature – test Ea) – written test
June 11, 2025: Mandatory profile test – Ec test) – written test
June 13, 2025: Test to choose the profile and specialization – Ed test) – written test
June 16, 2025: Mother language and literature – test Eb) – written test
June 20, 2025: Displaying the results of the written tests (until 12:00), viewing the written works and submitting appeals (between 14:00 and 18:00)
June 23 – 24, 2025: Viewing of written works and submission of appeals
June 30, 2025: Display of final results.
And one more novelty regarding the national exams: after finding out the grades, students will be able to see their papers and then decide whether or not to appeal.
