Starting with 2026, students of the eleventh grade will study theatrical education as part of the “Arts” discipline, while parents criticize the lack of sexual education in the school syllabus and the time chosen to introduce the new subject.
Theatrical education, mandatory matter in the eleventh grade Photo: Archive
The students from the eleventh grade will have, from the school year 2026-2027, hours of theatrical education included in the compulsory “Arts” discipline. This also includes musical and visual education and aims to combat functional illiteracy by involving students in practical and multisensory activities.
The hours will be supported by teachers who have graduated theater programs and show arts, according to the Minister’s Order no. 4350/2025 regarding the new framework plans for high school education. The measure is the result of a campaign initiated by the National University of Theater and Cinematographic Art (UNATC) Bucharest and supported by the Consortium Arte, formed by the higher education institutions that offer programs in the field of the show arts.
According to the plan, 36 hours of theatrical education are provided in the 11th grade, which can be distributed as an hour per week or concentrated, depending on the organization of each school unit.
Critics from parents: “It’s very late”
Several parents associations believe that this initiative, although useful, comes too late. Eleonora Țiu, a member of the Association of Parents “Iuliu Maniu” and a university lecturer at the Faculty of Arts in Oradea, says for HotNews.ro that the time chosen is uninspired, because the students of the 11th grade are already focused on the preparation for the final exams and the admission to the faculty.
“That is, to introduce in the 11th grade, when already in all the specializations the children focus on something else, it is done, as if on the knees, somehow thank the UNATC that came with the idea of introducing, which is very good, but it is very late.”, Says Țiu.
She stresses that it would have been more appropriate for the study of the theater to be introduced into the gymnasium, where it is usually produced “breaking“In understanding the text and decreasing the level of literature.
“Basically, before you interpret a text, you have to understand it. It helps a lot in literature, to reduce functional illiteracy and, if done in collaboration with Romanian language and literature teachers, with foreign languages, it is extraordinary”, Explains Țiu.
It also draws attention to the lack of collaboration between disciplines, an old problem of the educational system: “Teachers are not taught to collaborate, to work together, to have a logic between what is studied.”
Ministry of Education: High School Education is not just about Bac
Secretary of State Bogdan Cristescu responds to the critics and says that the election of the 11th grade as a moment for the introduction of theatrical education is related to the general context of the educational reform. He points out that teenagers need, more than ever, intercultural education, self -knowledge and development of emotional intelligence.
“If we refer to this context of social theater, intercultural education, emotion management, a certain part of the psychology of self-knowledge, you realize that there are certain aspects that can, at the age of adolescence or youth, are even more pressing. Mandatory education“, Cristescu told HotNews.ro.
Sexual education remains a notable absence
While theatrical education becomes compulsory, sex education is still missing from the official program. The subject was intensely discussed in the public space, especially in the online environment, where young people and parents expressed their disappointment with the absence of this essential component.
Asked by HotNews.ro why there is no distinct discipline of sexual education, Bogdan Cristescu explained that this information will be integrated into other subjects, such as biology or counseling and orientation.
“Legal education, health education and everything, These themes will be touched in several disciplineson the one hand in biology, on the other hand to counseling and orientation, on the other hand for education for a healthy life. There are topics for which you cannot do a distinct discipline. I have absolutely no restraint, but you know that, by the way of sexual education and everything, people’s reactions are sufficiently divided ”, Cristescu said.
The current curriculum defines health education as an ensemble aimed at physical, mental, socio-emotional health, including oral health and preparation of future adults from the perspective of family life and parental education.
However, a study conducted by Save the children shows that the program “Health education in the Romanian school ” In reality, only 6% of the students in Romania reaches.
