Teachers in Romania

40,000 Romanian teachers have left the education system in the last three years. Find out why.

Christine Leșcu, 24.07.2013, 11:01

It’s no longer a secret that teaching jobs are in very low demand, while many teachers look for jobs elsewhere because of the low salaries and the high amount of stress in the education system. The situation has become worse with the outbreak of the world economic crisis. Teachers’ salaries were cut by 25% as part of austerity measures taken by the government. As a result, 40,000 teachers have left the education system in the last three years and the exodus is likely to continue according to a poll conducted by the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education. Simion Hancescu, the federation president, explains:

“A large percentage of the people we interviewed, more than 41%, say they plan to leave the education system in the next five years. Approximately 30% haven’t made up their minds yet about their professional future. These figures are worrying. The people cite a number of reasons or their dissatisfaction. First and foremost, they are not happy with their salaries. A young teacher receives a net monthly pay of about 800 lei, which is barely enough to survive. Many of these young teachers still have to count on their parents for financial support. Some of them are commuters living in the city and working in the countryside. Under the law they have the right to claim a transportation allowance, but few local councils have applied this law so the teachers have to spend half of their salaries on transport.”

That pre-university teachers wish to leave the system is hardly news and it’s not always the financial aspect they blame for it. Other flaws in the system have also been invoked.

Ana, for example, worked as a primary school teacher for five years, a job she took as soon as she graduated from a teaching school. She didn’t quit the system because of the low pay, but because she didn’t agree with some of the changes that were being implemented at the beginning of the 2000s.

“School directors and deputy directors began to be politically appointed, which caused a lot of problems between the management and the teaching staff. Not to mention that while these so-called changes were taking place, the actual teaching and learning areas remained the same. It was applying glossy paint over an old fence to hide that it’s actually falling apart. I also didn’t like that children had to carry so many books with them to school. They are expected to do so much homework, so they no longer have time to enjoy their childhood.”

Ana also had to fight the mentality of many colleagues and parents:

“I used to wear trousers, which was a problem. I was supposed to wear a skirt at school. Another problem was that I didn’t do maths or reading during sport classes or history and geography during music classes as other teachers.”

In the meantime, Ana left the education system and chose instead to build a career in television. Her financial worries are now over, but there’s one thing she still misses from her teaching years:

“I miss that miraculous moment when 26 pairs of eyes look straight at you as if you were the most important person in the world.”

Before the economic crisis, Aura taught French in two high schools in Bucharest. She left the education system mainly because of the low pay. She continues to teach French, however, but works for a training firm where she teaches French to business people:

”I still have the profession I’ve studied for. I like teaching very much. I didn’t leave the state system because I didn’t like to teach, but because I didn’t have a decent salary. One other thing is that now I’m working with adults, which is easier than working with children and teenagers. I can’t say that I regret leaving the education system, because my life has improved a lot. It’s true that sometimes I’m nostalgic about the satisfaction I had when working with children. They get so attached emotionally to their teachers and if you treat them nicely and take good care of them, they give you a lot of affection in exchange.”

Unfortunately, teachers are massively abandoning the state education system, which Aura believes will have a negative impact on the education of today’s children and the generations to come:

“As long as teachers don’t have decent salaries, we can’t expect a lot of achievement. I don’t agree with people who say teachers should first prove themselves and then ask for more money. There should be a balance between a teacher’s performance and his or her salary. This lack of balance has a negative impact on the quality of education. “

One last problem is that many of the people working as teachers do not really have a vocation for this profession, but only accept teaching jobs until something better comes up.