More than 25,000 students study in schools that have three shifts and where classes are 40 minutes long and breaks are 5 minutes long. And this is discriminatory, draws the attention of the National Council for Combating Discrimination.
Shorter hours than the law provides – Photo Archive
“In the context of the indicated aspects, any change in the duration of the lesson actually represents a differentiated treatment, since such a difference denotes a non-respect of a fundamental right to education, which is translated as discrimination by not ensuring access to education under equal conditions for all students enrolled in different educational units in the public system“, CNCD transmitted, according to “Financial newspaper”.
Furthermore, schools that have a three-shift schedule must “order compensatory measures for students disadvantaged by the shortening of class hours“. But this conclusion has “guidance character” and has no legal value. Specifically, those who want to sue the school to recover their meditation money cannot use this point of view.
What does the law say?
According to the new Education Law, schools should have a maximum of two shifts and classes should have 50 minutes and a 10-minute break. What's more, primary school students should have 45 minutes of class and 15 minutes of break after each hour, and after the second hour, a 20 minute break. If this rule cannot be applied, then the last 5 minutes of each hour, from primary education, should be used for recreational purposes. But all this will apply from the 2025-2026 school year, Minister Ligia Deca announced.
Many schools are overcrowded because they are considered “good schools” or “of renown“, and then parents do everything to enroll their children in these institutions.
“Here is the problem why is there a big fight on some schools, because they are very good, but if they put in three shifts, they risk becoming average or less. In schools that have classes in three shifts, the principals are greedy to receive more funding per capita, to have more hours for their teachers, i.e. to have many didactic standards. But obviously it's not qualitative“, says mathematics teacher Ștefan Vlaston.
Teachers and students need a break
Because of the shorter hours, students may have more homework or go to meditations to fix problems. Iulian Cristache, the former parent representative, points out that compensatory measures should not be demanded when some parents deliberately choose a school because it is good, knowing that they will have shorter hours. “They also deliberately choose those schools and they still complain that the subject is boring. All children go to meditation if they want to perform. This law is knowingly violated because we are unable to set up some regulations“, he adds.
“Why deprive a student of 10 minutes of school, of a book every hour? Just because the school is impotent and unable to ensure equal conditions for everyone? It is managerial incompetence, but also cynicism, madness, and political emptiness, from the point of view of building the necessary educational spaces and so on“, transmits, for his part, the expert in education Marian Staș.
At the same time, teachers are also disadvantaged by the shortening of teaching time and the educational process is affected. “The problem is actually a killer bottomless form for pedagogical and physiological reasons. During the five-minute break, you can't even go to the toilet, go to the Chancellery, change the catalogs, it's madness that instantly destroys the school and destroys it. Given that you have 20-25 children in each class, you need a break, to understand each one, to work properly“, he explains.
