The files for the social scholarships of students from low-income families should be checked by the local authorities, through the social assistance departments, and not by the teaching staff, demand two trade union federations in education. They claim that the procedure takes away teachers’ time from students and exposes them to legal risks regarding the protection of personal data.
The Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education and the Federation of Trade Unions in Education “Spiru Haret” request that the analysis of files for social grants be removed from the responsibility of schools. Currently, educational institutions must verify the families’ incomes through the ANAF platform.
“It is unacceptable that teachers and teachers are turned into officials who process financial data and evaluate social assistance files. The obligation for educational units to access the ANAF platform to verify the incomes of vulnerable families is a completely atypical task for a teacher’s job description and for the mission of the school. Worse, this procedure steals precious time that should be dedicated exclusively to students and the educational act, while exposing, at the same time, teaching staff to risks unjustified legal claims regarding compliance with personal data protection rules”, the statement of the two federations states.
What the Ministry of Education answered
The unions sent the Ministry of Education a request on this topic, and the answer received on September 30 is described by them as “strictly bureaucratic”.
According to the federations, the ministry informed them that the involvement of teachers in the analysis of files is legal and that the teachers who perform this activity are not exposed to any risks. Data verification would be a duty of care for directors and members of the Scholarship Management Committee.
“Instead of looking for solutions to relieve education employees, the ministry justifies itself by stating that the verification of this data is a simple service obligation of the leaders and the Scholarship Management Commission, claiming that the processing of personal data in this context would not involve risks and is perfectly legal. However, the teachers are neither social workers nor tax inspectors”, say the trade unionists.
They also cite a study funded by the Ministry of Education and Research in 2024, which would have recommended transferring responsibility for managing social grants to local governments.
“We publicly and firmly request the Ministry of Education and the future minister to give up the sterile justifications and urgently come up with a legislative amendment. The evaluation of the financial files for the social grants must be passed to the local authorities, through the social assistance departments within the town halls”, the statement also states.
