Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced that they will take legal measures against teachers who refuse to teach online. If necessary, even the Education Law may be amended to oblige teachers to adapt to distance learning. According to the President of the Federation of Parent Associations, Iulian Cristache, some teachers are not taking online teaching seriously and are “passing it” on to the parents.
As the prime minister said on Monday, September 21, the Ministry of Education was consulting that same day with the representatives of municipalities, towns and county capitals to analyze how to better conduct online courses. Local authorities will also participate in the meetings, Romanian news portal, tion.ro reports.
Ludovic Orban additionally announced that the government will take legal measures to oblige online teaching after several teachers refused to adapt to it. “If necessary, we will amend the Education Law. Where such cases appear (teachers refusing to teach online – ed. note), we will take legal action. But the majority have already adapted to the situation and are following their mission,” Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said.
As the spokeswoman of the Bucharest School Inspectorate, Roxana Cercel, told Europa FM, some of the teachers refuse to teach both students online and in the classroom at the same time, or they do not want to record part of or an entire lesson and send it in video format to students at home. But schools cannot oblige the teachers to appear in front of a video camera.
According to Europa FM, several sources from the Ministry of Education also confirmed that many teachers won’t adapt to online teaching. Absurd requests have also reached the ministry: Some teachers said they won’t teach online unless the Ministry pays for their rent, while others demanded copyrights for the lessons in video format. The representatives of the ministry are meeting today with those from the National Supervisory Authority For Personal Data Processing to find a solution and prevent possible lawsuits filed by teachers who do not want to appear in front of video cameras.
The president of the Federation of Parents Associations, Iulian Cristache, also told Europa FM that they know about such cases, which are popping up more and more often. The president of the federation had some advice for parents: Hold the principals accountable.
“Some of the teachers, not all of them, want to receive their salary, but will send only some pictures taken with phones and worksheets, while the parents have to take care of the lessons, the teaching itself, and, God forbid, the evaluation, as that is the only thing missing”, Cristache said.
Sources from the Ministry of Education told Europa FM that the institution is looking for legal solutions to oblige, by law, all teachers to teach online. In addition, the same sources said that when evaluating the portfolio of the professors, it will be taken into account whether or not a has teacher taught online, if he had the resources to do so.
Meanwhile, the Senate adopted a bill on Monday that would provide school and university teachers a monthly risk allowance of RON 2,000 (EUR 400) for the duration of the state of alert and state of emergency. The other members of educational personnel would receive RON 1,500 (EUR 300) for the same reasons. The House of Representatives will be the decisive forum in this matter, maszol.ro reports.
Title image: According to Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, the majority of teachers have already adapted to the new education rules and are following their mission. Photo: monitoruldecluj.ro
