Romanian Democrat Liberals Call On PM To Sack Education Minister

"The government doesn't need such a minister who doesn't accept reform in its essence and who tries to over-centralize and over-politicize education," Toader said, adding he will ask the prime minister to sack social democrat minister Andronescu unless she changes her attitude and withdraws this order.

Andronescu issued an order Wednesday that bans school inspectorates from appointing school principals and assistants and stipulates that school managers will be appointed at the proposition of the managing boards of school inspectorates.

"She had the nerve to pass an order that over-centralizes the power of decision. In other words, a school principal or kindergarten manager in who knows what village should be appointed by the minister," Toader said.

Toader accused Andronescu of not only disregarding the law on education, for which the government asked a confidence vote in Parliament, but also breaks legal provisions in effect, which set that local school inspectors appoint school principals, based on ministry-approved criteria.

The democrat liberal lawmaker added the minister's order is outright illegal and disregards the principles agreed for the education sector in the country's ruling coalition.

"She messed up the whole system right at the beginning of the school year," Toader said, adding the order affects 16,000 school principals and kindergarten managers countrywide.

Asked whether he talked the issue over with the prime minister, Toader said he hasn't because Boc in on a two-day official visit to Italy, but, as far as he knows, the prime minister has been informed about the order.

Toader said the education minister's party peers are sure to have a problem with the order as well, especially the Social Democratic Party's vice-president, Liviu Dragnea, who had countless talks with Andronescu about decentralizing the education system.

Order no. 5139/16.09.2009 of the education minister repeals the provisions of the education staff law that empowered general school inspectors to appoint school managers. The order also stipulates that all appointments to management positions within schools, for the 2009- 2010 school year, made by school inspectorates, will be terminated starting September 16, 2009.

According to the new order, all school inspectorates will submit to the Education Ministry, within 48 hours, the list of propositions for further appointments to school management positions.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.