Senator Stefan Palarie of the opposition Save Romania Union (USR) announced on Monday having notified the Ombudsman and the Court of Accounts regarding the "void" generated as a result of the dismantling of county school inspectorates and the Pre-University Education Quality Assurance Agency (ARACIP).
"Instead of producing a positive change, the education package produced a void, a black hole. Today, the entire pre-university education system is about to implode, because the legal basis for the operation of the county inspectorates and ARACIP was wiped off on September 3, but the Education Ministry has not yet put anything in place, neither at central, nor at county level. Mrs. Minister Deca chaotically applies chunks of the old law and of the new law, as it suits her. Unless urgent clarification is provided, all the documents issued by these institutions risk being invalidated if they are challenged in court," Palarie said at the Palace of Parliament.
He points the finger at a "legislative chaos" due to which any decision to second teachers, to delegate tasks and responsibilities, or perform any transfer from one school to another could be "nullified".
"At this moment we operate in a legislative void, which is why, together with my USR colleagues, I drafted two reports, one for Mr. Mihai Busuioc from the Court of Accounts, and the second for the Ombudperson, Ms. Renate Weber. Both institutions, which are paid from public money to clarify such cases, are the ones we turn to with the request to clarify the legislative framework in pre-university education. If things are as we and our lawyers see them, then we have a time bomb ticking and are in the situation where, until the fall of 2025, all issued documents risk being invalidated," said the USR senator.
Stefan Palarie asked Education Minister Ligia Deca to publicly clarify the situation.