September 23rd, 2020

 

Almost 13,000 schools across Romania fall into the green scenario

Nearly 13,000 schools across Romania are currently in the green scenario involving students’ daily physical participation in classes. According to data centralized by the Ministry of Education, 4,400 schools are in the yellow scenario, in which preschoolers, primary school students, but also those in the 5th and 8th grade are present daily, face to face, in class, while the children from the other middle and high school classes rotate for one or two weeks. In the red scenario, in which classes are done exclusively online, there are currently 300 schools, due to cases of infection with the new coronavirus among students, teachers or support staff. Half of the students who responded in a survey conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Romanian Academy claim that they are satisfied with the knowledge gained from online teaching. However, there is a significant part of students, respectively 16 percent, who say they have difficulty understanding what is taught in the digital environment.

A prestigious university in Romania promotes a project of advanced research

The Romanian government has promised to support the most ambitious project in the field of scientific research, promoted by Babeș Bolyai University of Cluj. It is an institute of innovative technologies that will promote transdisciplinarity and could be, in the field of life sciences, the equivalent of the famous project Extreme-Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) from Măgurele. The project is also approved by the European Commission, which has already provided 45 million euros in funds to start scientific research. Babeș Bolyai University is the oldest, largest and best rated Romanian university, according to international rankings. The university management wants to promote the project of an advanced research institute that will highlight the skills of Cluj researchers in fields such as: computer science, robotics, innovative technologies and life sciences. “This institute deserves all the support of the Government”, said in Cluj, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban.

Workers in the Romanian education system are calling for on-demand flu vaccination

The Romanian Free Trade Unions Federation in Education (FSLI) requests the Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru, to take all necessary steps to ensure the legal framework through which employees in the education system may benefit, on demand, from free influenza vaccination, carried out with priority. The request comes as the Minister of Health announced that 3 million doses of vaccine have been purchased so far, and teachers should be included in the risk category. Trade unions point out that, by the nature of the profession, education employees are additionally exposed to the disease and may in turn become sources of infection for students with the flu virus. Moreover, the Ministry of Health should launch a national vaccination campaign for education employees, at their request, through school medical offices, avoiding the overload of family doctors, it is also shown in the communiqué of the Education unions.

Magda Baciu