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Representatives of Save Romania Union (USR) are requesting that the doctoral theses of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and Minister of Education Sorin Cimpeanu be analysed by the National Council of Attestation of University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU), but also that the education laws not be adopted in the current form, because the provisions are "white-washing" those with plagiarised doctoral theses.
"It's been one year since Minister Sorin Cimpeanu, wanting to present himself as a "personal example" and to respond to the allegations that he is keeping his doctoral thesis a secret, requested the University of Agronomic Sciences to analyse his thesis, after which to send it to CNATDCU, the council with a central role in analysing plagiarised works. We do not know whether in the last year someone checked the thesis of the Minister of Education, because both the University, which Sorin Cimpeanu led for years as a rector, as well as the Ministry of Education, refuse to offer information," said the USR leader, Catalin Drula, on Facebook.
According to him, Minister Cimpeanu is using the drafts of the new Education laws for "offering protection" to those that plagiarise.
"Since the disbandment of CNATDCU to prescribing in 3 years numerous violations of university ethics, and as a bonus, simplifying the process through which the title of doctor can be renounced, Sorin Cimpeanu has done everything to encourage theft in higher education," Drula also wrote.
In his turn, deputy Stelian Ion, former Minister of Justice, publicly calls on President Klaus Iohannis not to allow the adoption of the draft laws in the form submitted under public debate and to make sure that in applying the "Educated Romania" project "personal interests" of political decision-makers are not going to interfere.
"I am publicly requesting President Iohannis to intervene in this moral conflict, in which important decision-makers for elaborating and promoting education laws - PM Nicolae Ciuca and Minister Sorin Cimpeanu, are accused of plagiarising in their doctoral theses. President Klaus Iohannis recently declared that he is glad that the 'Government is carrying out solid steps during this period for implementing my passion project, Educated Romania'. A truly educated Romania cannot be built on suspicions of plagiarism at the highest level of decision-making. That is why I am asking the president not to allow these draft laws to be adopted in the form launched in public debate, whose provisions whitewash those with plagiarised doctoral theses," Stelian Ion wrote on the same social network.
He added that PM Ciuca's and Minister Cimpeanu's doctoral theses should be made public and "urgently" analysed by CNATDCU, and the results to be publicly communicated.
Minister of Education Sorin Cimpeanu notified the University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in August 2021, with the request for the analysis/verification of the conformity of his doctoral thesis, including in relation to the analysis of his entire scientific activity "as presented in the list of scientific works publicly available" on the website of the higher education institution.
AGERPRES
