The beginning of the year finds us still without a Minister of Education, after the resignation of Daniel David. And in the public space, a new idea was advanced by presidential adviser Sorin Costreie and then taken over by union leader Marius Nistor: two Ministers of Education, one for pre-university education and another for university education. I asked several actors in the system how they see such a solution. The idea is not bad, but it depends on the implementation, is the unanimous opinion.
How does the advanced idea sound
“I have been saying for years that I rather think that the French, Polish, Swedish model would suit us, which have two separate ministries, they have a ministry of education and a ministry of universities and research”said Sorin Costreie, presidential adviser on education issues, in a podcast produced by Educație Privată.
He also brought arguments: “I saw her after working on the weed line in the ministry. They are different worlds, not totally different, that we all do education, but different practices, all kinds of different challenges. It seems to me that it’s harder to teach the younger you go. According to me, the hardest part is in kindergarten, and that’s where we should have the people best trained in terms of intervention.”
The idea was also joined by Marius Nistor, the leader of the “Spiru Haret” Trade Union Federation, which represents teachers in pre-university education.
“This could be a solution: to have an actual minister and a delegated minister who deals strictly with pre-university education, who empathizes with the hundreds of thousands of workers in the field”declared Nistor for Freedom.
What people in Education are saying
According to Viforel Dorobanțu, director of Curcani Secondary School, such an option could be good, given the fact that it works in other countries.
,,A solid argument would also be the fact that pre-university and university education operate according to two distinct laws, each with their own particularities. Mr. Costreie’s idea is valid, from my point of view, only if the two ministers will have similar portfolios”.
The school director also believes that the option should be put into practice the opposite of what Marius Nistor claimed:
“The pre-university student should not be delegated minister, but he should have the same prerogatives as the university student.”
Social Sciences Professor Doru Căstăian is of the opinion that:
“It is an idea that has potential, because this feeling that the Ministers of Education who come from the university are disconnected from the reality of the pre-university is old, well-rooted and constant”.
However, a lot depends on how the solution would be implemented:
“If these two ministers will simply function as two poles of power, unable to work on a common vision, in which the experience and expertise of each of them – and obviously the teams they have behind them – will be integrated, then we are operating this transformation in vain. It would still be a purely formal move, with no effects in practice. That’s why, I repeat, in principle the idea seems reasonable to me and I think it would lead to beneficial effects, but only with this condition: of the integration of these sub-views into a common, coherent, realistic and applicable vision.”
However, this could also happen at the moment, without two different ministries, Doru Căstăian also believes:
“Because there are state secretaries for pre-university education. But, who knows, maybe the existence of a minister for pre-university would change the balance of power a bit and give pre-university issues a greater chance to make their way onto the minister’s agenda.”
Gabi Bartic: “A separation could be beneficial”
We also asked the opinion of the Education specialist Gabi Bartic, who follows the same line as Sorin Costreie, Doru Căstăian and Viforel Dorobanțu, that pre-university and university education have different logics. And he explains in detail why:
“Pre-university manages a mass system with a major social mission: to keep as many children as possible in school as long as possible and to provide them with real life skills – from literacy and critical thinking, to autonomy, adaptability and the ability to function in a complex society. Here we are talking about equity, inclusion, dropout prevention, basic training and reducing structural differences between children.
The university, on the other hand, has a predominant role of selection, specialization and performance. Its objective is not universalization, but the formation of very well-prepared graduates, able to respond to sophisticated professional requirements, to conduct research, to innovate and to quickly adapt to competitive and international labor markets.”
That is precisely why, Gabi Bartic believes, a separation of both budget and management and strategic vision could be beneficial:
“It would allow more coherent public policies, decisions better calibrated to the realities of each level and would reduce the risk that the problems of one sector will be treated with the unapproved tools of the other.”
Gabi Bartic also says that the proposal is needed for success in practice ,,not to be just a formal administrative division, but one doubled by clarity in objectives, responsibilities and performance indicators. In other words, separation makes sense if it comes with a different vision for each level of education – not if it just produces another level of bureaucracy.”
Which countries have separate ministries and how they work
Spain has, within the Government, two separate structures for general education and for university education:
- Ministry of Education and Vocational Training – is responsible for policies and management of pre-university education (schools and high schools) and vocational training
- Ministry of Universities – dedicated to policies for higher education
The model itself is good, because it allows clear objectives and policies better adapted to each level. Problems also arise there when the two ministries are headed by people from different parties, and the coordination is not ideal. In addition, difficulties also arise in the transition from high school to college, because the requirements are not perfectly aligned. What is known about the Spanish model is that there education, like all essential fields, is strongly decentralized. That’s because the autonomous regions have different policies.
And France it has two different ministries, but their coordination works much better.
- The Ministry of National Education – is responsible for preschool, primary, secondary and high school education and sets the national curricula
- Ministry of Higher Education and Research – responsible for universities, Grandes Écoles and scientific research.
Unlike Spain, here decisions are made at the unitary level, they are not decided regionally, and the French baccalaureate is closely linked to the requirements of higher education.
Poland is another European country with two Ministries of Education.
- The Ministry of National Education – deals with pre-university education; it sets the overall framework, but schools and local authorities have an important role in implementation
- Ministry of Science and Higher Education – responsible for universities and research.
The history of the Ministry of Education in Poland is a complicated one. In 2006, separation was introduced for the first time, and in 2021 it returned to a single ministry – the Ministry of Education and Science – with the aim of coordinating education and research more centrally. This variant did not last long: in 2024, education was again divided between two ministries. A single ministry created confusion and overload, the argument went.
In Romania there has always been only one ministry, and since the Revolution until now there have been 30 Ministers of Education. The mandates rarely reached two years, and in some situations the ministers did not last more than a few months or, as was the case of Ioan Mang, a few days.
