Thirteen Romanian students have won 13 gold medals at the Applied Chemistry Olympiad in Indonesia (IAChO 2024). A result that did not even receive breaking news coverage on television, and for which politicians certainly will not rush to the airport to take selfies with the winners.
It would probably be even more embarrassing than usual for them to do so, especially since the Ministry of Education has done everything in its power to sabotage the Romanian presence at this event, according to Prof. Daniela Bogdan, the coordinator of the 10 students from Sava College in the Romanian team:
“Congratulations to the parents who have instilled in their children the spirit of never giving up, financially supporting them to participate in IAChO, an olympiad that is on the Ministry of Education's (ME) funded competitions calendar, but was not funded with even 1 leu.
On the contrary, ME delayed a decision so much (and a response to the requests we made in writing), that we bought plane tickets at a much higher price at the last minute.
But about these practices of individuals temporarily populating an institution responsible for the proper functioning of education, I will write and speak more extensively in the coming days. Right now, we are happy and eagerly awaiting our return home. If you can't help, at least don't hinder us.”
That's about the support for intellectual performance in educated Romania. But who should support it? We are led by, for the most part, impostors, illiterates, with dubious schools completed late, repeaters, failures over whom a president enriched from the toxic industry of tutoring, whose interests are destroying the Romanian education system.
It's true that even athletic performance doesn't receive much help. Beyond the electoral milking of each medal, the real support is explained by David Popovici.
What will happen to the 13 exceptional children winners in Indonesia? Most likely what happens to most Romanian values, sooner or later they will leave for other countries, driven away by inept impostors like those who didn't even pay for their plane tickets now.
But perhaps, isn't it true, the Romanian state considers that its effort should not be primarily directed towards elites, who can help themselves, but towards the disadvantaged area, which needs to be helped.
We could believe, if Romanian students were not the last in PISA tests, if we were not at the top in Europe for school dropout rates - 20% of students who started in the preparatory class nine years ago did not show up for the national evaluation this year. If high school students were not learning from textbooks approved before they were born, in 2004.
We could believe, if the established recipe for success were not intense tutoring, an accessible recipe but only for those whose parents can afford it. If paying for transportation for over one hundred thousand students in this situation was not a lottery.
In parentheses, if there had been a poor child in the Romanian team for Indonesia, whose parents could not buy them a plane ticket, would they have had any chance from the Romanian state? Isn't it obvious that in educated Romania, the success of a child without means is almost a miracle?
For the economic director at the Ministry of Education, Mr. Mihai Păunică, who I understand should have signed the travel expenses, the price of a plane ticket to Indonesia is negligible, considering the substantial, unupdated since 2021 wealth declaration, all based on public money. Including the money from parents who paid for their children to win the olympiad.
About the respect for excellence of Minister Ligia Deca, who in record time became a perfect politician, her behavior towards the international math olympiad winners says it all:
While exceptional Romanian students were winning everything possible in Indonesia without any help, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the boss of Ms. Deca and Mr. Păunică, was campaigning in student dormitories in Regie and writing carefully chosen words on Facebook: “we ask them to study and we are proud of them when Romania is on the podium thanks to their performance”.
Really? On what grounds does Romania pride itself on the achievements of an athlete who doesn't even have a decent swimming pool for training? Or on the achievements of students whose parents pay for their plane tickets and accommodation at the international olympiad they overwhelmingly win?
Romania should not be proud, but ashamed that its performers succeed against, not with the help of the Romanian state. And it should not be surprised that most of them leave for countries that are less proud, but do much more.