The vote on professional baccalaureate, postponed by senators

The vote on professional baccalaureate was postponed by senators for the next week, after an hour and a half of debate.

Discussions focused on the opportunity to introduce this form of examination, but also on costs, quality of education and curricula.

Poor results obtained this year at baccalaureate determined the Education Ministry to propose the introduction of a so-called professional baccalaureate, a less difficult exam in order to allow students to easily access the labor market. Opposition senators criticized the initiative Tuesday, which they consider a path to a legalization mediocrity.

The national baccalaureate remains in the same structure and with the same content as the last three years. The professional baccalaureate introduced by an amendment gives access to the labor market, said the Minister of Education, Ecaterina Andronescu.

"If the national baccalaureate through diploma is the permit access to higher education, the professional baccalaureate gives only a right of access to the labor market and, moreover, by the way in which is created as content, adds, to skills, professional skills for whoever get such diploma "said Ecaterina Andronescu.

Professional baccalaureate "legislates mediocrity"

According to the opposition Senators, through this type of baccalaureate is impaired the quality of education and increases the instability and vulnerability by tuning results becoming weaker.

"We're now in a situation where 70 percent of students in Romania fail the baccalaureate. And what do we see? Here comes Madam Minister Andronescu and, instead of looking among the causes which led to this situation, proposes legislating the mediocrity. In other words, when Romania is going down instead of stopping this situation, we come and adapt the legislation to the respective situation, "said the Liberal Democrat, Florian Staicu.

USL senators, in response, appreciated the return to normality by the interest in the discussions that have been started regarding the subject.

The education committee chairman, Mihail Hardau, pointed out that the measure is transient, a chance, he said, for the 150,000 students who have not graduated the high school.

He insisted on investing in this area as long as during this year the professional education has not received any money.

The debates, even heated, will be ended only on Monday, through the plenary vote.
Tuesday, the Chairman Crin Antonescu stopped the works because the working time voted by senators at the beginning of the meeting was exceeded.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University