The teaching career bonus, 1,500 lei granted in the form of vouchers for courses and books, sparked the revolt of pre-university teachers. “Some make money, some waste time.” Secretary of State Alina Gîrbea announced that she will organize a consultation with the beneficiaries.
What was intended to be good news turned into a real storm in the online environment, where teachers who were notified that the teaching career bonus was approved finally wrote all their grievances. “Some make money, some waste time“, accuse the teachers.
Secretary of State Alina Roxana Gîrbea – who took over the coordination of the Education and Employment Program (PEO) 2021-2027, carried out by the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE), during the past week, after the Secretary of State supported by the PSD was withdrawn from office – announced that the teaching career bonus has been approved by the government, the money will be available from the end of June. The net 1,500 lei, received in the form of electronic vouchers, cannot be spent anyway, with 65% of the amount, i.e. almost 1,000 lei, to be paid for advanced courses, the difference remaining at the teachers’ disposal to purchase books necessary in the instructional-educational process.
The post has gathered more than 130 comments, with the teachers signaling what, by the way, they also discussed months ago, namely that they don’t think it’s normal to be told what courses to take (there is an approved list of providers and courses available). Even the very high percentage of the amount allocated to the courses does not seem right to them, in addition, the time they have at their disposal is extremely short, which means that they will have to participate in the courses during the vacation, i.e. in their free time.
“A mechanism by which teachers are pushed into the market of vocational training providers”
The Argeș “Muntenia” pre-university education union, which criticized the provisions since February, reminded, including on the page of the secretary of state Alina Gîrbea, what are the main question marks raised by the teachers.
The first of these would be the name, the trade unionists pointing out that “the teaching career bonus does not represent a salary increase, but a conditional and controlled funding. The premium is not included in the salary, does not produce effects on the pension, does not enter into the calculation of other rights and can only be used within the limits imposed by the state. Basically, the Government avoids assuming a structural financing of the salary and instead offers a conditional voucher”.
As for mandating that 65% of the amount be spent on courses, this is nothing but “a forced diversion of money”a provision that transforms support “in a mechanism by which teachers are pushed to the market of professional training providers, many of these courses being contested for years for formalism, reduced utility and proximity to various political-administrative networks”.
Also mentioned is the short implementation deadline, August 31st, which also favors accelerated consumption, not genuine professional development. Attention is also drawn to the fact that the exclusion of administrative staff from the provision of this support is discriminatory, unfair and outrageous.
“All this only reinforces the anti-EU narrative”
The teachers ask themselves in the online environment who they are helping, that tens of millions of euros are being spent without any real benefit.
“Romania does not benefit in any way, the EU sees that you are throwing money away on nonsense and the only ones who win are those on the list with accredited programs. It is as if in public policies they are discussing the responsible spending of public money”, attention is drawn in one of the comments. It is a requirement of the European Commission that at least 50% of the money be used for courses, explains State Secretary Alina Gîrbea. “This shows on the one hand that even EU policies are not adapted to the needs of the beneficiaries, depending on the national contexts. We found this also on the gender equality side. And so the money is spent for nothing, without any social impact. On the other hand, this shows that the preparation of the program was disastrous, the needs of the training teachers should have at least been identified, not a market created for some clever groups who do useless courses (or don’t do them) and take the money. And last but not least row, at the level of salaries in our education, plus the massive cuts of the last year, to the lack of equipment and access to vital resources for teaching, to force people to spend money on some useless courses and tell them that look what the EU is doing for you… All this only reinforces the anti-EU narrative”. continue the discussion in the comments.
Promulgated law. The teaching and professional career awards will be awarded in October of each year
Beyond the critics, the teachers also came up with concrete proposals regarding the destination of these funds that could help them much more: paying for conversion courses, purchasing materials needed in the classroom, devices such as printers, tablets with smart functions, etc. “Courses are only good for fulfilling school duties with credits, but do you think that anyone would start taking courses on vacation? When I see MPs working overtime and even on their vacation, then I promise I’ll get a teaching career too. Until then, keep your handouts and send it back to the EU.” he is definitely a teacher.
Other teachers also asked if they could refuse this bonus.
“It is regrettable that the teachers were not consulted”
The most frequent criticism is related to the courses offered to them and the extremely short period, on top of that, during vacation. “Honestly, there is only one explanation for the chosen solution – that money will go to the right people. It is in the category
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Secretary of State Alina Gîrbea responded to many of the comments, pointing out that she had recently taken over the coordination of the program and that she did not know there was no consultation process.
“Thanks so much to everyone who commented for the feedback. As I said in the video, last week I took over this program from one of the secretaries of state who resigned in the context of PSD leaving the government. It is unfortunate that the teachers were not consulted. I will organize as soon as possible an open consultation on the subject of dividing the premium”is one of the responses, with the post later edited to announce that “following the reactions received, I will organize a consultation of the beneficiaries, to which I will also invite the Ministry of Education and the European Commission. It is important to listen to the opinions of the teachers and see what can be adjusted”.
