The two representative unions in pre-university education recommend to members to boycott the beginning of the school year, and from September 9 to continue the protest, temporarily limiting the teaching-learning activities. “The protest will be effective only if we act unitary ”.
The teachers announced a huge protest on September 8, like the 2023 Photo: Inquam/O. Gane
With a few days left until the first day of school, teachers, parents and students do not know what is going to happen on September 8, after the big protest in the Capital, to which 30,000 teachers are expected.
The two representative unions in pre -university education The Federation of Free Education Unions (FSLI) and the Federation of Education Unions “Spiru Haret” (ESF) – sent to the territory several addresses, through which on the one hand they ask the union members to be solidarity in the organized approach, emphasizing that they are fighting not only for teachers’ rights, but also because “It is in the game and your future, of the young generations that are formed and will be formed in the educational system ”.
They also have a message for representatives of local public administrations, which they arouse to refrain from displaying on the first day of school, because
“The Romanian school is in suffering“,
and “Your image gestures no longer have their place in a day marked by a general dissatisfaction ”they transmitted the unions.
In the chancellors, where from September 1, the activity has begun, the atmosphere is of pressing waiting. More and more teachers no longer believe that the forms of protest that come so late have the power to change something. However, some send messages to their parents, announcing that they will boycott the beginning of the school year and asking them not to send children to school on Monday, September 8, 2025.
“If something was really wanted to change, it was tried before the appearance of the legislative norms. What can you change after the classification was restored and everything is set up? Why do you strike? Maybe just to make even more economies, on our spine, because any day of strike is an unpaid day,” I say teachers with whom the reporter “Adevărul” spoke.
That teachers are far from the solidarity that the unions ask has also been seen when dividing the free hours that are granted to teachers for the time. If he had refused to accept them, it would have been a clear signal that the new fee for the hourly payment, which has dropped to less than 50% of the value of the last school year, is really considered an insult, say the union leaders. However, the school inspectorates had no problem with the distribution of these hours, this year and so fewer than in the last school year (according to the evaluation of Minister Daniel David, there will be 15,000 rules for the time, after increasing the two-hour teaching norm, compared to 30,000 year last school year).
“I accepted the payment by time, because there is less money, but you stay in school anyway ”a teacher motivates the decision.
And less interested in protest measures seem to be substitute, qualified and unskilled, which, even now, after officially the school year has started (the school year begins on September 1, and the courses on September 8), are still looking for hours. In most counties, competitions have been organized for substitutes, qualified and unskilled, either at the county level, or at the level of schools that have hours available, and until the beginning of the directors and school inspectors still look for the right teachers for the chairs/hours still discovered.
“Starting on Tuesday, September 9, students are expected at school.”
In the three working days left until the first day of school, teachers should decide how to position themselves, if they boycott the beginning of the school year, if they urge their students not to introduce themselves on the first day of school or if, on the contrary, it decides to be a regular beginning of the year. From some schools have already been transmitted messages to parents.
In such a message, parents and students are announced that:
“” At school on Monday! We thank you for understanding and support! ”.
The boycott, according to the recommendations of the two trade union federations, would be extended after September 8. Teachers are urged to “Temporarily limits the teaching-learning-evaluation activities”
and only carry out the following activities:
“-
supervision of students/preschoolers during class/educational activities;
–
the operation of any absences or any other relevant/necessary observations in the physical/electronic catalogs;
– I.the immediate formation of the management of the unit and/or the parents/legal representatives of the students/preschoolers, as the case may be, regarding any incident spent during the hours;
–
Statement of the title of the lesson or activity or evaluation, with informing the students that they will be postponed until the protest form ceases;
–
offering brief answers regarding the possible questions of the students/ preschoolers regarding the lesson, evaluation or activity;
–
the preparation of the lesson projects/plans for each class/group and hour, in accordance with the program and calendar for the school year 2025-2026;
–
conducting the administrative activities according to the specific function and quality held in the Professional Council, the Board of Directors, commissions organized at the unit level;
–
maintaining the institutional relationship with the parents/ legal representatives of the students/ preschoolers, in the case of the personnel who also hold the position of leaders (including teachers, educators, etc.);
–
fulfilling the tasks regarding vocational training, depending on the specificity of the function and seniority in education;
–
fulfilling and other legal attributions, others
than teaching-learning-evaluation (for example: designing evaluation tools, remedial activities, recapitulations, etc.) ”.
“Dear colleagues and colleagues,
Our protest will only be effective if we act unitary, at national level. If, in the next period, in all the state pre-university education units, no teacher will effectively carry out the teaching-learning-evaluation activities, the decision-makers and the entire political class will understand the seriousness of the situation by the measures ordered by Law no. 141/2025 and the legitimacy of the requests of the personnel in the educational system. Let us also consider the example of other socio-professional categories (for example, the justice staff) who have managed to solve their claims through unitary actions.
The results will be obtained only by solidarity and unitary action, at the level of the entire pre -university education system ”,
The leaders of the two unions ask.
However, some of the teachers are afraid that the effect is not one contrary to the expected one among the parents. In addition, I do not see how such an attitude could change the decisions already adopted in the system. “Who teaches in the first two days of school? Do you completely do other activities. Do you recap, you know your students, you do not teach”, It is the opinion of a teacher.
