Romanian PM calls for 'real debate' on start age for mandatory education

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has weighed into the debate surrounding the mandatory age for children to attend kindergarten. He mentioned the age of five as a possible starting age for institutional education, but said a real debate needs to be organized before authorities make it mandatory for children to go to kindergarten at that age. He reminded of the mandatory pre-school class and of the debates it stirred before being implemented in Romania. “I think it is a very important decision which also refers to the mentality in Romania. Grandparents are used to keeping children more at home. Let's organize a real debate, so that when the decision is made, we don't just imitate an European or a worldwide system,” said Ponta. Earlier this year, the Education Minister said a decision would be made in 2015 on whether the second year of kindergarten, usually attended by children 5 to 6 years old, would be included in the mandatory education system. Should this decision be made, Romania would have 12 years of mandatory education, which would become affective starting September 2015. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: freeimages.com)