Middle school and high school students must have assignments that can be completed in no more than two hours. In the case of primary school children, the volume should be even lower, no more than one hour. The measure is not new, but has been regulated since 2016, warned the Minister of Education at the “Adevărul” Interviews.
PHOTO Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea
“Since 2016, we have regulated the time a child should spend on homework. It is one hour at the primary education level, two hours at the gymnasium level, two hours at the high school education level. I got to say that in a certain context. Children should not have homework for more than two hours.(..). Obviously I realized that some fellow pre-university teachers did not know this. It seemed to them that I am coming to regulate this now, although it has been regulated since 2016.” stated the Minister of Education, in the interview granted to “Adevărul”.
Daniel David believes that the actual implementation of this measure would be beneficial for both students and teachers.
“Students, I think, would rather do a shorter homework than if you give them I don’t know how many homework they don’t do or do with anger and dissatisfaction and frustration.
(…) And for teachers, many would understand that sometimes <
At the primary education level, it is simpler, because the teacher knows the amount of homework for each subject. At the gymnasium and high school level, other solutions can be found, says the minister:
“After all, it is a regulation. That’s why you have a director who can monitor this, talk to fellow teachers who teach his class, so that they harmonize over time. (…) I think there had to be a culture at the school level, that is, everyone should know that homework should be around two hours”.
The weight of schoolbags could be reduced by using digital textbooks
The heavy weight of the schoolbags that students carry to school every day is, on the other hand, an unregulated problem.
“Imagine what it would be like to come with a ministerial order to say, although some have suggested this to me, what weight is given according to the age level. And so there are so many things that teachers are discovering now that are irritating. I wouldn’t do that again. But I am also convinced that the teachers are also aware that it is a problem and I encourage them to look for solutions, to imagine that it is their children who have to carry that weight every day”.
Cabinets where students can leave some of their materials are a solution, the minister believes. So is using digital textbooks.
“I want to tell you that almost all textbooks are digital, they are accessible online. A lot of people say, sure, they’re put in PDF form. When I heard this, for a few weeks, every day, I go in and check some more manuals. They are not PDFs. Some are interactive. That is, you have various exercises, some of them also have audio recordings. I encourage everyone to check out the online versions of the manuals as well, as they are very interesting.”
