Education Minister Ligia Deka has commented on union proposals to end school violence, saying she would agree to the temporary exclusion of a student along with counseling and the switching on of video cameras in classrooms so that recordings can be used in the event of incidents. Education unions proposed to include in the law such measures as the temporary expulsion of students, the creation of re-education centers, detention in schools or fines for parents.

Responding to journalists’ questions on Tuesday in parliament about the trade unions’ proposal for exmatriculation for up to 5 days, Ligia Deka said that “it would be good if such a measure was accompanied by counseling and “certain actions that the student and the family must take.”

Regarding the use of video cameras during lessons, the Minister of Education noted that this could be a measure to prevent violence:

• “We have cameras and we have seen that in some cases the recordings have also been used.
• Of course, we have a regime there, we have to take care of the right to the image, the right of the teacher not to be supervised during the lesson, but I think that for the public interest, such as the fight against violence, this can be a measure that prevents that fact , that I know anti-social behavior can be seen and of course only certain authorized people should have access to these records, but I think this could be a solution.”

Regarding the proposal to create re-education centers, Deka said that special education centers already exist, but only the court can refer children to them:

• “I don’t think we need segregation like the re-education centers that existed before 1989. I think we’ve seen over the past decades that there are much more effective solutions for rehabilitating students.
• In addition, the Association of Psychologists draws attention to these measures, which may give the false impression that they solve the problem, but de facto do not eliminate the causes.

Detention at school, grade that is taken into account when entering a university or BAC, fines for parents – proposals of trade unions

The president of the Federation of Education Trade Unions (FSE) “Spiru Haret” Marius Nistor proposed to strengthen sanctions for students in case of violation of discipline in the context of serious incidents in schools last week.

These include repeated expulsion, detention at school, a certificate of behavior to be taken into account when entering secondary school or BAC, or fines for parents, writes edupedu.ro. These proposals were presented by the FSE at the debate on the draft law on pre-university education, which takes place on Tuesday in the education committee in the Chamber of Deputies.

Proposals of the Federation of Education Trade Unions “Spiru Kharet”:

• 1. Statutory establishment of sanctions applicable to students, including notification of expulsion and expulsion, limited to 3-5 days or final, with a corresponding change in the provisions on compulsory education.
• Regulation, also in law, of other sanctions similar to those applied in other education systems:
• Activities for the benefit of the educational unit or community
• In-school detention, which means students sit in class after class under teacher supervision, using that time to reflect on their actions.
• For particularly serious violations – transfer of students to re-education centers, which are subject to restoration.
• Valorization of the passing score in the sense of mandatory consideration when entering high school + bachelor’s average score.
• 2. Creation in each academic unit of at least one position of school counselor, without the obligation to lead, only with clear authority and competence for students who are experiencing difficulties in the family, identity crisis or adaptation to the school environment, who can talk with students independently with the consent of parents or legal representatives or not at the request of the teacher.
• 3. Legislatively establish fines from parents/legal representatives for the actions of children (regardless of whether they consist in damage or destruction of the unit’s property or in insulting/hitting its employees). + Differentiated amounts of fines depending on the gravity of the act.
• 4. Indicate the positions of guards of educational units, and not employees of basic enterprises with which administrative and territorial units have a contract, who can control students in a bag/backpack by questioning or in case of suspicion of possession of weapons, white firecrackers or dangerous / psychotropic substances.
• 5. Mandatory installation of video cameras in all classrooms, corridors and in the school yard, which can work regardless of the presence or absence of the consent of parents of legal representatives, with the consent of the teaching staff. Filming can be used as evidence in a disciplinary investigation, as well as by competent state authorities.
• 6. Prohibition of the use of mobile phones in the school space both during regular hours and during breaks or during extracurricular activities.
• 7. Phones close when entering the block and open again when leaving it. Phones found in students are confiscated and given only to parents/legal guardians. (Photo: Dreamstime.com)