Romanian education minister uses social media to announce new school regulation

Students in Romania may no longer be allowed to bring or use their mobile phones in class, according to the new framework regulation for the operation and organization of pre-university schools, which the minister of education has announced on Facebook. “During classes, the mobile phones are kept in a special place arranged in the classroom, set so as to not disturb the education process,” reads the document cited by local Hotnews.ro. Moreover, the students who don’t wear school uniforms can’t be sanctioned and the grades can’t be used as a measure of constraint, according to the new regulation. Also, “the education staff are forbidden to engage in or encourage actions likely to affect the public image of the child and the intimate, private or family life of the child or other employees in the unit.” Education minister Liviu Pop approved the new regulation on January 8, and presented it on Facebook on Tuesday evening, January 9. However, although some of the changes are welcome, the students' representatives say the procedure of adoption is illegal because it was carried out without public consultation. Romania plans to connect all secondary schools to the internet Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com