Unhappy with the recent measures taken regarding the education system, the largest teachers’ unions announce that, instead of being in the classroom on the first day of school, teachers will take to the streets in Bucharest.
They will organize a picketing action at the Government headquarters, followed by a protest march to the Cotroceni Palace.
- FSLI Leader: The opening of the school year will take place for the first time in front of Victoria Palace. The entire system will be disrupted, there will be continuous protests
- Daniel David, message before the start of school: Education has fulfilled its duty to the country. We accepted the sacrifice of image. Per aspera ad astra
"We are not on the streets for higher salaries, but for better conditions in the educational process, for justice. We are on the streets because the Government has taken a series of measures that directly affect our work and, implicitly, the education we provide," states a press release issued on Monday and signed by the Free Trade Unions Federation in Education (FSLI), the Education Trade Unions Federation "Spiru Haret," and the National Trade Union Federation "Alma Mater."
The measures that Education union members disagree with are those that involve increasing the number of students in the classroom, a "drastic" reduction in the number of merit scholarship recipients, increasing the number of hours that teachers must spend in the classroom, reducing positions, and funding.
Regarding the increase in the minimum number of students in classes, teachers argue that this lowers the quality of the educational process, as the more students in a class, the harder it is for a teacher to pay attention to each one, answer questions, and ensure they understand the material.
Regarding the reduction in the number of merit scholarship recipients, combined with the elimination of Olympic excellence scholarships and resilience scholarships, Education union members believe that "this measure demonstrates the cynicism of the current political class and how little they understand the importance of those whom Romanians should be proud of and encourage and support."
Furthermore, representatives of the teaching staff argue that increasing the number of teaching hours will lead to a situation where teachers will be "more tired, less available, and more exhausted", pointing out that in addition to teaching lessons, teachers are "like marathon runners" and prepare lessons, correct papers, provide counseling, complete hundreds of documents, and files.
“Our protest is a protest to stop these measures,” the union members also say, appealing to students and parents to "understand the importance of their fight" and to support them, "as the future of the young generations being educated and to be educated in the educational system is at stake."
"This year, the first day will not have the same significance for us. We ask you not to blame us for this decision to boycott the first day of school. The Government is to blame, which, through the measures taken, has shown that it does not care about us, about you, about the Romanian school. Therefore, we ask you not to participate this year in ceremonies devoid of content and to join our protest on September 8, 2025," is the message sent to students and parents.
Additionally, teachers may not teach anything to students after September 9. Education unions have initiated a referendum for education employees to decide whether to boycott teaching activities starting from the second day of school.