Union: Romania has 4,500 unqualified people working as teachers

The unqualified teaching staff employed in local schools reaches 4,500 in the 2017 – 2018 academic year, according to data from the Federation of Education Unions, quoted by Hotnews.ro. Romania is the only country in the European Union using the title of ‘unqualified teacher’ in the education system, according to the same source. The reason for the situation is that the competitive and qualified young teachers do not want to work in local schools because of the low salaries, the federation said. A beginner teacher in a Romanian public school earns RON 1,400 (EUR 307) monthly. “If in 2004, there were 343,000 available teaching positions serving 4 million children, in 2017 we are confronted with a decrease in the number of children to 3 million but also with a decrease in the number of teaching positions to 295,000. Furthermore, if in 2005 there were 19,500 beginner teachers, in 2017 their number dropped to 16,000. The lack of qualified teaching staff in Romanian schools adds to a phenomenon we do not want: the increase in the number of unqualified staff that ends up teaching children. This school year, 4,500 unqualified staff were employed,” the federation said in a press release. Romanian teachers self-evaluate positively, students remain below OECD average in PISA tests Romania, last in the EU for education spending per capita editor@romania-insider.com