The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) calls for the resignation of Minister Monica Anisie for the disastrous situation of the education system and, in particular, for her failure to solve the acute problem of the lack of medical staff in schools.
The current context, although a particularly difficult one, is no longer new and no one can say that the unfolding of events has taken us by surprise. Epidemiological developments and specialists' forecasts indicate that the school year 2020-2021 will start in very difficult conditions, and this has been known for months. However, the Ministry of Education and Minister Monica Anisie have failed to take the necessary measures.
The shortage of school physicians is not a problem that we are just facing today, but an old one, but at this time it is becoming of unparalleled seriousness in the context of the coronavirus epidemic, when the health of pupils must be constantly monitored.
The most recent data show that there are 4 932 medical staff in Romania's educational establishments, 1 302 doctors and 3 630 nurses, while there are 17 656 schools, almost four times fewer medical staff than there should be. Nor will the Ministry of Health's promise to add around 1,000 more nurses mean that, as is only natural, every school will have a full-time nurse.
Having a healthcare professional in a school has also been shown in studies to help improve student achievement.
Although there is a legal obligation to set up medical cabinets, there are plenty of cases where schools do not have them or, if they do, do not have contracts with doctors.
The problem is also linked to the shortage of medical staff in the health system, which makes it difficult for schools to find full-time specialist staff to work in schools. In the lucky cases, there are only a few hours a day with the children. So often the only solution is to turn to the emergency services.
The Ministry of Education's concern to find solutions to ensure that every school has a medical staff was non-existent, although it was obvious that the role of school nurses would be essential during this period.
Minister Monica Anisie's inability to find viable solutions to the most acute problems in education, including school doctors, calls for her resignation.
FACIAS has launched the "Decalogue of Education Disasters" campaign, outlining ten reasons why Minister Anisie should resign.
So far, the reasons given by FACIAS have been the failure to solve the problem of school transport for pupils, the lack of physical or electronic textbooks, the mismanagement of the staff under her - secretaries of state of the Ministry of Education left for the election campaign just as the school year started, and the lack of digital skills of teachers, as online schooling has become a reality.