In Romania there are dozens of high schools where no graduate of the 12th grade promotes the baccalaureate. It is a vicious circle in which poverty, trauma and lack of concrete measures are intertwined to remedy the problem, say the specialists.
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At this year’s baccalaureate session, about 20% of the students did not pass the exam. Of these, 3281 students did not show up. More serious, in the country there are 50 high schools where no student has passed, to which are added several hundred with a small percentage of promotability, between 10% and 15%. In general, failure at the baccalaureate follows the same sad recipe for more than two decades. The high schools with zero promotability or very small promotability are in the category of technological school groups, from small cities or from rural areas. Although the problem is known, any effective measures to remedy the situation has not been taken over time.
Most of the time the measures taken were summarized in the “punishment” of those high schools by diminishing classes in the profiles where no one took the baccalaureate. The school unit and the teachers are shown with their finger and, in most cases, guilty of the students’ failure. Education specialists, but also teachers say that the problem is much deeper and that it is a vicious circle to which the Romanian educational system has never had answers. There were abandoned generations and finally sent to the shame panel. The people in the system explained to the “truth” which is, in fact, the problem and what the solutions in this case would be.
A tradition of counter -performance at the baccalaureate
Among the high schools in the country with a gloomy tradition of negative performances at the baccalaureate are some school units in Botosani county. It is mainly about the high schools in the rural area, but also about the technological ones, from the municipality of Botosani. A good example in this regard is the “Elie Radu” High School in Botosani, specialized in technological profiles in the field of construction. Although preparing craftsmen looking for the labor market, at the vocational school, at the high school level is a real disaster in the baccalaureate. This year it had zero promotability, as in 2022. In 2023, the average high school at the baccalaureate was 3.77. This year, the six students who enrolled in the exam failed with grades of 1 and 2. And the theoretical High School “Anastasie Bașotă” Pomârla also had zero promotability. The Technological High School “Petru Rareș” Botoșani had a promotability percentage of only 11.76%, at the “Alexandru Vlahuță” Technological High School Șendriceni promoted 11.11%of the students, and at the “Dimitrie Negreanu” Botoșani High School.
“Children from disadvantaged environments with emotional trauma”
Teachers and directors of high schools with very weak results at the baccalaureate say that, from the beginning, they are convicted for the performance for these high schools, most students with very low grades in national evaluation or even without national evaluation, to redistribution. Many of them come from disadvantaged environments, some with trauma and learning problems. “The challenge is that these students often do not have the promoted capacity exam, children from disadvantaged environments with real emotional trauma and which our teachers strive to bring to promotability notes. But these students record many gaps from previous years. school ”says Cornelia Marandiuc, teacher and director at the “Elie Radu” High School in Botosani.
Most students enter these high schools with 2 and 3 grades for national evaluation, indicating a very low level, without basis for many objects. “There are also students who have problems with writing and read. If at national evaluation, which is an medium-level exam, you get 2 or 3 then it is clear that you do not have the base of the fourth or third class. How could a teacher to teach her gymnasium and at the same time, and to the high school. Students, ten hours a day at school to recover and teach ”states a teacher who taught in technological high schools. In addition, the motivation of the students, some without support from the family, from the environments that do not encourage the teaching, is lacking. “How do we do when they are not accustomed to learning or coming to school in the gymnasium? I am coming from families who do not encourage or are abroad.”adds the teacher.
In struggle with mentalities, reform and pride
Due to the poor results in the baccalaureate, many of these high schools were proposed for disfigurement. The measure was not popular, especially in the rural area, because many parents could not give their children to school in the city. That is, they remained with the eight classes graduated at the village school. So it went further with the vicious circle of the school failure at the baccalaureate. Students with small grades at national evaluation went to technological high schools, failed to make progress and inevitably dropped the baccalaureate. “A student who does not have a national evaluation and goes to the clear high school will not have the purpose of the baccalaureate exam”also confesses Bogdan Suruciuc, the general school inspector from ISJ Botosani. Peak, these high schools from the country or technological are successful on the professional school branch.
Specifically, schools form craftsmen in different fields, with 11 classes, without the students having to give the baccalaureate. In addition to the professional classes, these educational units also have high school classes, either on the technological or theoretical chain, as is the case of the High School in Pomârla. And these high school classes are a total failure, as the results at the baccalaureate shows. Many of these high school classes, within the schools that should be more professional, were also maintained following the 2009 “Reformation” initiated by Ecaterina Andronescu. Specifically, the vocational schools did not receive a schooling figure, and many technological high schools, to survive and do not close the gates, were based exactly on these high school classes, which only students with small grades were enrolled. In addition, due to the demonization of the professional classes, the parents of the students with low grades in the national assessment preferred to give students who did not enter a national college or a theoretical high school at these technological educational units. “Obviously with disastrous results. They were ashamed that their child was learning to professional. Although that was his level. He had note 4 and something at national assessment but the father wanted to see him in high school, not to laugh at the scale of the block that he was going to the class of masonry or waiters.”completes the Botosani teacher.
“We also need craftsmen in society. It is not a shame”adds Bogdan Surciuc. In fact, the heads of the County School Inspectorate propose that students with low grades in national evaluation are directed to vocational schools, and high schools with catastrophic results at Baccalaureate change their vision and re-analyze the profiles made available to the schoolchildren. “Students enter with very low grades in these high schools, without national evaluation sometimes and clearly the results at the BAC are very low. These educational units have to see what profiles are actually attractive, who bring children with results. And students with very low grades go to the technological chain.”adds the head of ISJ Botosani.
Without concrete measures from the Romanian state
Although this situation is a constant reality for over two decades, the Ministry of Education has not been able to find coherent solutions to remedy the situation. The abolition of classes and even schools even brings only social problems and many students risk only with eight classes. Remedial hours could represent a solution where students are willing to follow them. “Something needs to be done for these students and we will analyze the solutions, punctually for these educational units”says Bogdan Suruciuc. Another viable solution, say education specialists, would be a subject and exams adapted for technological education. “I would be glad to believe that in the not too distant future, topics specific to the technological chain will be developed. It is not the same to have a baccalaureate on the technological chain with a baccalaureate on the theoretical chain.”adds Cornelia Marandiuc.
