Romanian teachers struggle with online education

Recent opinion poll indicates many Romanian teachers feel they are not prepared to conduct classes online.

Roxana Vasile, 05.11.2020, 13:50

The Romanian education system is one of the victims of
the coronavirus pandemic. First closed in March, schools reopened in mid-September
with the start of the new academic year. Three scenarios were available at this
point: green – with teachers and children physically present in class; red -
with teaching being conducted exclusively online; and amber – a combination of
the two. The joy of most of the 2.8 million children and adolescents eager to physically
go back to school was, however, short-lived. More and more schools began to
close as coronavirus infections began to grow around the country, including in
Bucharest, where the authorities decided that classes would only be held
online.

The ministry of education had seven months, from March
to September, to come up with viable solutions so that neither children, nor
teachers should have to suffer. The reality on the ground showed, however, that
many teachers still don’t know what online teaching is about, many children don’t
have the needed resources, such as laptops and tablets, and parents have to
make considerable logistical efforts to cope.

An opinion poll conducted by the Spiru Haret Federation
of Trade Unions in Education among some 8,500 teachers around Romania shows
that more than 53% of them have done at least one training course in the last
five years. Despite this, most teachers, namely 66%, believe they need more training
to be able to teach online. Also, almost 46% say the authorities did not help
their schools in any way during this health crisis. 37% say they had to buy
their own laptops or tablets and 33% paid almost 200 euros out of their own
pockets to be able to hold classes online. According to the survey, teachers
also had to buy in some cases printers, cartridges for photo copiers, educational
software, as well as facemasks and disinfectants.

The conclusion of the Spiru Haret Federation of Trade
Unions in Education is that both the local and the central authorities must
allocate substantial funds to allow teachers to provide quality teaching and
guarantee the access of all children to education, regardless of how this is being
conducted, in person, online or in a mixed form.