Romanian education minister dismissed after controversial remark related to kidnapping case

Prime minister Viorica Dancila announced on Friday, August 2, that she decided to dismiss education minister Ecaterina Andronescu following a controversial remark the minister made on TV related to the kidnapping of a 15-year old girl. Culture minister Daniel Breaz is to be in charge of the education portfolio as well until a permanent minister is appointed.

Referring to the tragedy in Caracal, Ecaterina Andronescu said in a TV show that the 15-year-old who was presumably killed by her kidnapper after hitchhiking shouldn’t have gotten into the man’s car. “Still, my parents taught me not to get in a car with a stranger," she said in a talk show at Antena 3, according to local G4media.ro.

"For example, Alexandra – I looked into it at the School Inspectorate – was going to school, she had a (transport) subscription. What determined her to hitchhike? I think that we should, at the beginning of the school year, introduce a child protection system in all schools and teach them to protect themselves, to stay away from such situations. I learned this at home... I think that these things should also be repeated at school,” Andronescu elaborated in the TV show.

The prime minister reacted and decided on Friday to dismiss Ecaterina Andronescu “for deeply wrong statements made recently in a TV show.”

“These are statements that show Mrs. Andronescu’s lack of understanding - in particular, of the Caracal case and, in general, of how we should protect our children from kidnappings, aggression, abuse, and human trafficking. It is an irresponsible attitude, which does not reflect the Government's position,” Dancila wrote on her Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Ecaterina Andronescu said that she learned from the television that she was dismissed and that the PM did not inform her about this decision, according to Digi24.ro. She also tried to explain her statement, arguing that what she actually meant to say was that the school should teach children to protect themselves.

“My intention was to say that if parents do not tell them, we at school have an obligation to help children understand how to stay safe from criminals. We were planning to start a campaign in the fall, to educate them,” Andronescu said. “My intention was not to accuse Alexandra (e.n. the 15-year-old girl who was kidnapped and possibly killed in Caracal) or her parents. That’s not how I thought things, I’m not that kind of person.”