Minister of education and research Daniel David on Sunday reiterated that Romania needs a pact for the "Decade of Education and Research", which should be assumed by the "political factor".
In the message sent on the occasion of the International Teachers' Day - October 5, the minister states that, in order to succeed, the society now needs a pact for the Decade of Education and Research in Romania (2026-2036), with three simple points, which he intends to have assumed by the political factor in the country, according to Agerpres.
The first point says that every year, starting with 2026, the budget for education and research must be higher than the previous year (in nominal terms and in relation to GDP);
The second point says that the two areas dedicated to knowledge - education and research (science) - remain under the same national authority, in order to contribute in a coordinated manner to the development of the country as a knowledge-based society;
Major measures in these areas must correspond to EU/OECD practices, always aiming towards EU/OECD best practices. Deviations from these practices will be publicly presented and argued.
"In Romania, we are currently experiencing a difficult year for education and for the Romanian society as a whole, with 2025 probably being the most dangerous year for the country since the 1989 Revolution. There have been difficult years for the country - both economically and politically - but in 2025, internal political and economic crises are strongly combined, against the backdrop of a war on the border, hybrid attacks on the country and international crises related to the re-establishment of the architecture of the world order. I know that, in many places, budgetary pressure, changes in the system and the need for continuous adaptation seem to overshadow the deep meaning of our work. But it is also in such moments that the true strength of education is seen: the power to transform crisis into progress and uncertainty into meaning," Daniel David stated.
He mentioned that he accepted the implementation of fiscal-budgetary measures in education and research to save salaries and scholarships, but with the commitment that in the short term there will be no reductions in salaries and no layoffs, and in the medium term, that a decent salary in the field will be thought of, starting from the average gross salary in the economy in the case of a novice professor/university assistant, with the aim of reaching 15% of the general consolidated budget on education expenses and 1% of GDP for research by 2030.
"My concern is that the people working in education to be well off in a new educational system, not in the current system that generates functional illiteracy that paralyze our country and that must be reformed paradigmatically so that we won't become a failed civilisation under obscurantism and a technological/scientific colony!" the minister emphasised.
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