Open letter: RO civil society reps outline measures against political imposture

An open letter signed by 50 academics and representatives of the civil society outlines several measures meant to reform the system that “in the past 30 years allowed an army of impostors to take hold of the country.”

The letter, presented by G4media.ro, comes three weeks ahead of the parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 6. It is addressed to “Romania’s future senators and deputies.”

The letter asks the future MPs to explain what they plan to do during their mandates to rid the public life and the state institutions of those who forged their degrees, plagiarized their theses, of “the people lacking valid qualifications and competences.”

The signatories of the letter request the establishment of a national diploma registry that would include an electronic database of all diplomas issued in Romania starting in 1990. It would include high school, graduate, and postgraduate diplomas. The database would be accessible online to anyone interested.

Another proposed measure is to require all state institutions’ employees to declare, under legal responsibility, that their diplomas are authentic.

A third proposal is to eliminate the Ph.D. financial supplement received by all people employed in the public sector, except for those working in education, research, culture, and healthcare. The measure is meant to “stop the inflation of Ph.D. degrees obtained by people with professions that are irrelevant in relation to such an academic title.”

Making the CVs of public sector employees in management positions available publicly and the drafting of a statute of the dignitary, similar to the statute of public servants and outlining ethics and integrity standards, are the other measures proposed.

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