Several school principals’ and vice principals’ mandates in Romania expire in January, but many of them will remain in their position until the competitive exams (used to assign leading school positions) are over. In Hargita (Harghita) and Maros (Mureș) counties, for example, almost all of the Hungarian principals were simply reappointed for the sake of continuity.
The Romanian education law allows for the reappointment of school principals until these exams are over or, at the latest, until the start of the next school year. The decisions about these appointments are made at the county level by the school inspectorates.
Minister of Education Sorin Cîmpeanu told HotNews.ro that because the mandates of 4,250 school principals and vice principals expire in January, examinations will be organized for them later, in the summer.
The mandates of 800 school leaders (out of the 4,250) were not prolonged by the county school inspectorates, meaning that new principals were appointed in these cases. The minister also stated at the same time that exams for leading positions at these schools will take place in the spring.
Continuity is important in Maros and Hargita County
None of the Hungarian school principals in Maros County were replaced in January, despite some of their mandates having also expired, Maros County Deputy Chief School Inspector Ildikó Illés told szekelyhon.ro, adding that in the case of the Romanian school leaders, there have been a few changes. “Even though some of the Hungarian principals’ mandates expired as well […] we temporarily reappointed them until the examinations take place.”
According to Hargita County Chief School Inspector Levente Demeter, only one school principal did not get reappointed in their county. “Their mandates expired on January 8, meaning we had to reappoint them. Out of these cases, only one person did not get reappointed to his previous position,” he said.
Title image: Door of a school principal office in Szeklerland. (Nándor Veres/szekelyhon.ro)
