The Ministry of Education is obliged to provide free of charge, for the preparatory class, school textbooks and/or alternative teaching materials, stipulates a legislative proposal to supplement art. 93 of the Law on Pre-university Education no. 198/2023, submitted by the parliamentary group of the UDMR.
"The Ministry of Education is obliged to provide, free of charge, for the preparatory class, school textbooks and/or alternative teaching materials, including worksheets, workbooks and other teaching materials in accordance with the national curriculum in printed and digital format, for all students in compulsory state, private and denominational education," the legislative proposal states.
If an approved school textbook is not available for a certain subject or field, the Ministry of Education is obliged to provide equivalent materials, in accordance with the school curriculum, until the respective textbook is developed and approved, according to the project.
The initiators recall that, starting from the 2012-2013 school year, the preparatory class became part of primary education, being regulated as a mandatory level through the amendments to the National Education Law, provisions also taken up in the Pre-university Education Law. However, the parliamentarians add, "The Ministry of Education does not provide textbooks or other teaching materials for this level, thus violating the legal provisions regarding the right to free education, as regulated in the Pre-university Education Law no. 198/2023".
"This situation has generated, for over a decade, educational inequities, differences in treatment between students at the beginning of the primary cycle and those in higher grades, and the lack of unified teaching support for teachers working with 6-year-old children. It has also placed a financial burden on parents and created a precedent that does not respect the constitutional principles of equity and universal access to free education. The task of purchasing worksheets and auxiliary materials is informally transferred to parents or educational units, which leads to a deeply unfair situation. This problem especially affects children from disadvantaged backgrounds, where many parents do not have the necessary financial resources to buy workbooks, teaching materials or auxiliary supports," states the explanatory statement, signed on behalf of the initiators by UDMR deputy Kantor Boglarka.
According to the initiators, the estimated average cost per student for textbooks and/or worksheets is approximately 100 RON annually. This amount includes the expenses related to printing the textbooks, the logistical costs related to distribution, as well as the provision of the digital format.
"Related to an estimated number of 190,000 beneficiary students, the total zero cost does not exceed 19,000,000 RON. We consider that this budgetary effort is modest in the context of the total budget for education and that it represents a necessary investment in supporting equity and quality in the educational process. The adoption of this legislative proposal corrects a legislative and administrative omission that has existed since 2021, until now, guarantees respect for the right to fair education for all students in compulsory education, supports teachers by providing unified pedagogical support, reduces the financial pressure on families, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and strengthens the application of the law, consolidating the responsibility of the Ministry of Education in respecting its own responsibilities," emphasize the UDMR parliamentarians.
They propose that the implementation should apply starting with the school year following the entry into force of this law, in order to allow the Ministry of Education to organize the process of developing, bidding and distributing materials.
The project, signed by 21 UDMR senators and deputies, was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate being the decision-making forum.