At a first reading, the chapter dedicated to the education in the electoral program of the president chosen Nicușor Dan seems to tick the benchmarks expected by the general public: the recognition of chronic sub -financing, the criticism of the excessive bureaucracy and the promise of a functional relationship with the unions and the civil society.
Nicusor Dan at the conference. Photo Inquam Octav Ganea
However, from the perspective of specialists, the text is hesitant where strategic clarity would have been needed: in defining education as a national security problem and in the explicit assumption of paradigm change.
What promises Nicușor Dan’s program?
The program entitled “Honest Romania” dedicates to education pages 8-9. Among the objectives assumed are:
- Recognition of education as a national priority,
- Constant dialogue with unions and specialists (including semester meetings),
- depoliticization of management positions in education,
- a legislation to ensure transparency and professionalism in the teaching career,
- Increasing financing and reducing bureaucracy,
- Integration of the educational system into a long-term national development vision.
But perhaps the most notable point is to assume a “Real and deep reforms” in education. However, this remains insufficiently outlined in terms of concrete directions.
What does education mean as a threat to national security?
Professor Mihai Ştas, an expert in educational policies and author of the work “Education and national security” (2014), points out that the presidential vision of Nicușor Dan is incomplete. In a critical evaluation, Statas observes that:
“What is completely lacking is the definition, in Romanian and clear terms, of education as a threat to national security. This concept does not belong to Nicușor Dan, which is why he cannot operationalize him. At the presidential level, the pressure for changing the paradigm of education is critical, ie a 21st century school for a 21st century Romania”.
More precisely, Ştas pleads for the transition from the centralist paradigm (specific to the communist inheritance) to a decentralized model, based on the principle of subsidiarity, in which: “The essential challenge is the transition from centralized curriculum, designed by the ministry, to the curriculum offered by the school-as is natural in a modern democracy. ”
This direction of reform is not present in the program of Nicușor Dan, which suggests either a non -assumption or a non -knowledge of the strategic stake, considers the expert.
What the unions say
Simion Hăncescu, the leader of FSLI, the Federation of Free Education Trade unions, declares that the problems in education are recognized by Nicușor Dan: underfunding, politicization, bureaucratization. The dialogue was opened, and the expectations are high: “We have nothing to hide. We have hopes. We met with him and we hope to meet and after he is installed, because at the meeting he promised that he will meet semi-annually with the Trade Unions and Education specialists.“
This optimistic prudent positioning comes against the background of an accumulated frustration in the educational system, but also of an urgent need for real, not just declarative.
In fact, the federation had a meeting with Nicușor Dan, before the second round of the presidential elections. “We discussed essential problems in education: the lack of teachers’ protection in the face of aggressions, the excessive bureaucracy that burdens them with administrative tasks (such as social aid files), the increasing deficit of teachers,” Note the union after a 30 -minute meeting, in full election campaign.
What is missing
The program “Romania honest” is, in essence, a decent political document. But it is not a country plan for education. What is missing?
- Assuming education as a national security issue. Concept present in the specialized literature for over a decade, but ignored in the presidential program.
- Change of educational paradigm. Real curricular reform, decentralization of decisions, school autonomy – all are absent or just suggested.
- Connecting to European trends. In an era of personalized education and learning throughout life, Romania continues to operate on a rigid matrix, incompatible with the reality of the 21st century.
Nicușor Dan comes in office with a reliable capital and a speech that recognizes the problems in education. But without a clear commitment for the deep change of the system architecture – as experts and unions ask – the chance of a real reform risks being missed. And education, remaining behind, will continue to be not a priority, but a strategic vulnerability.
