Premiere in Romania. A high school student from Oradea, who contested his Baccalaureate grade last year but obtained a lower one than the original one, sued the Ministry of Education and won the case. The young man’s lawyer demonstrated in court that the Education Act has large subsidies and should be revised. The judges’ decision is not final and has already been appealed.
“The education law is against the principle of law. How to aggravate your own situation in your own way of attack? There is no such thing! A defendant, for example, if he received a two-year prison sentence and appeals, he will not get three years. Either the original sentence is maintained, or it is reduced,” Alexandru Ovidiu, the student’s lawyer, explained for “Adevărul”.
The story of Denis, a student at the Baptist High School in Oradea, begins in the summer of last year, immediately after taking the Baccalaureate exams. “He is a very good child, he participated in the Olympics, and in high school he had exceptional academic results. It was a shock to him to learn that at math he only got a grade of 9.45. It seemed small to him, which is why he filed an appeal”, the young man’s lawyer told “Adevărul”. “He was hoping for a much higher grade.”
Victory after 7 months of trial
According to the law, students who are dissatisfied with the grade obtained can dispute it, but they are taking a risk: following the reevaluation of the work, children can receive a higher grade, but also a lower one. Moreover, the grade obtained following the appeal remains final. The students also sign a statement to this effect. But, in many cases, the children are still minors, so their signature has no relevance. As happened in the case of Denis, continues the lawyer. “We didn’t run into this matter in court, but it could come to that because the boy didn’t yet have the discernment and capacity recognized by the law, not being 18 years old. He reached this age somewhere around August, after that time”.
After re-evaluating the paper, Denis received an even lower grade: 8.15. “The child again believed in a mistake and asked, this time, to see his work corrected. He was allowed, but the note passed in the corner of the sheet was hidden, masked with the palm. Basically, it was not left to see his grade”.
His luck was that his parents knew the lawyer Alexandru, who offered to represent him in court. “I sued the Ministry of Education and the School Inspectorate. It is not normal that following an appeal you find yourself with a higher sentence than the original one. The process lasted about seven or eight months, and I had about four appearances. Denis was not called before the court, the child saw his school: he is a student, he entered mate-info, at Babeș Bolyai University. Now, our fight to return to the initial mark, of 9.45, is only going on to give the child justice”.
In court, the parents asked for the re-evaluation of the already disputed work, but their request was rejected. Instead, the judges considered that the provision that establishes the grade from appeals as the final one is not really..legal. “Reading the minister’s order, on the basis of which the entire Baccalaureate exam was held, I realized that the problem is that paragraph that allowed the Commission for the Resolution of Appeals to lower the mark following the appeal. And then I attacked in court and this way”.
The Romanian law, for some mumma, for others a plague
The lawyer believes that this provision was born out of the teachers’ desire to avoid the trouble of correcting too many appeals. “In the idea that they are scaring the students with this thing..and only challenge those who take the risk of getting a lower grade. However, this regulation has a discouraging character for the student”.
The decision of the judges for Denis to be marked with the initial mark, the one of 9.45, is not final, however. “The ministry has already contested the decision. They appealed. Now, it remains to be seen.. In the worst case, it could return to the grade obtained following the appeal. As for what real chances we have, I couldn’t tell you. You never know what can happen. We are waiting for a deadline to be set at the High Court and to rule on this case”.
If the decision remains unchanged, Denis will receive a new Baccalaureate diploma. “Both the boy and his family are very happy. Denis feels that justice has been done to him, that his work has not gone unrewarded”.
Moreover, a precedent has already been created, because this year the lawyer was called by other parents who also reported problems in their children’s grades.
