Press review – January 8, 2021

The Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, had, on Thursday, discussions with trade unionists in education and with the associations of students, pupils and parents and specified in a press conference that no reference was made to the cancellation or postponement of the national exams. Cîmpeanu argued that the national exams must take place on the planned dates, with physical presence and on a theme that must be adapted to what was taught and what the student assimilated, reports Agerpres.

"In no case, in no discussion did the cancellation or even the postponement of the national exams result. For predictability, the national exams must take place on the planned dates, with physical presence and on a theme that will really have to be adapted to what was taught and what the student assimilated. We know what was taught from the reports, what the student assimilated you will be able to know after a personalized evaluation. Because there are large discrepancies that we must recognize, assume and see what we can do better to reduce losses. No one claims that we will be able to compensate absolutely all losses, it is important to compensate as much of these losses as possible", declared the Minister of Education.

Asked what budget is expected this year for Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu answered: "At a higher budget in absolute terms than the 2020 budget".

Sorin Cîmpeanu met with the representatives of the unions 'Spiru Haret', FSLI, Alma Mater, of the National Council of Students, of the National Federation of Parents' Associations in Pre-University Education, but also with those of students from ANOSR, UNSR and USR.

The structure of the school year 2020-2021

Semester I (17 weeks)

Courses: Monday, September 14, 2020 – Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Holiday for kindergartens and preparatory classes - IV: October 26 - November 1, 2020
Winter break: Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – Sunday, January 10, 2020
Courses: Monday, January 11, 2021 – Friday, January 29, 2021
Intersemester holiday: Saturday, January 30, 2021 – Sunday, February 7, 2021

Second semester (17 weeks)

Courses: Monday, February 8, 2021 – Thursday, April 1, 2021
Spring Break: Friday, April 2, 2021 – Sunday, April 11, 2021

• Catholic Easter will be in 2021 on April 4

Courses: Monday, April 12, 2021 – Thursday, April 29, 2021
Spring Break: Friday, April 30, 2021 – Sunday, May 9, 2021

• Orthodox Easter will be in 2021 on May 2

Courses: Monday, May 10, 2021 – Friday, June 18, 2021
Summer vacation: Saturday, June 19, 2021 – the date in September 2021 when the courses of the 2021-2022 school year begin.

Year 32 students will only have 4 weeks of school, for them classes will end on 2021 June 165. In year 33, the number of school days is 11 due to the National Assessment: they will do 2021 of school weeks, ending on June XNUMX, XNUMX.

42,2% of Romanians believe that Education must be the zero priority for the new Government, according to the survey conducted by IMAS just before the investiture of the cabinet led by Florin Cîțu. Health is second on the list of priorities and appears in the answers of 40,9% of the survey participants, while the Economy is placed third, with 29% of the answers.

At question "What do you think should be the top three priorities of the next Government to be sworn in?", 22% of respondents indicated Infrastructure, 14% – Jobs, 11,7% – Health crisis/vaccination, 10,5% – Pensions and allowances, 9,8% – Justice, 7,4% – Poverty/Level of living, 7,1% – Investments/Attracting European funds, 5,1% – Corruption.

4,1% of those interviewed directly indicated the cutting of special pensions as an important topic, and 1,5% – the Environment.

The Europa FM barometer was carried out by IMAS between December 8 and 21, on a sample of 1010 people and has a margin of error of 3,1 percent.

In an interview for School 9, Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu explained what criteria he will consider for opening schools, why he asked for a study among teachers on their willingness to get vaccinated, how he will manage the education budget and why supports the increases for the budget of expenses of the schools to the detriment of the salaries.

In short:

About vaccinating teachers: "The more people who want to, will have the availability to get vaccinated and the faster this happens, the less the risk of epidemiological transmission will be."

On remedial lessons for students: “The education budget must include this component of remedial actions. Beyond the financial resource, we need, I repeat, the dedication and dedication of teaching staff."

Education Budget: "At the annual budget level we have assumed since the beginning of the government program that we will have 6% of GDP allocated to education through gradual increases until 2024."

Teachers' salaries: "I think it is normal to support as a priority the increase of the component of the standard cost per pupil dedicated to material expenses, because from those costs a school also pays for its electricity."

The choice of the school director by the teachers seems to me an inappropriate idea: on the one hand, because it would be done only by the teachers; on the other hand, because the elections are not indicated in this system, writes Cristi Dănilet on his Facebook page.

He also offers the arguments against: - If voting by the teachers is preferred, I wonder why the director should not be elected by both the students and the parents? It's as if we say everywhere that the school involves the triad "students-teacher-parent"... In addition, the principal is not "of the teachers", but the principal of the "school". Not to mention that the director operates with money from the City Hall, implements the ministerial policies and submits to the administrative tasks given by the Inspectorate. Therefore, the Mayor, the General Inspector and the Minister should also have a vote. Which would lead to an absurdity. - Experience shows us that weak officials will choose as their boss not the one who can rule and control them, but the one who will leave them alone. The appointment by election of a head in a public institution is, therefore, inadequate and would turn the school into a field of union struggle. As a result, we must realize that if what bothers us are political appointments/revocations, the solution is the organization of meritocratic contests, not elections. Elections cannot replace the need for a good manager, tested, on such an important position as the director of a school unit where human destinies will be built.

The confidence indicator in the Romanian economy calculated by the European Commission increased slightly in December, after two consecutive months of decline, but remains below the level of October. Why it's important: The ESI is a composite index, based on a survey, that shows the perception of operators in the services, industry, construction and trade sectors, as well as the population regarding the current state of the economy, as well as expectations for future developments. The indicator is calculated by the European Commission and has a high level of correlation with GDP evolution.

The economic sentiment indicator (ESI – Economic Sentiment Indicator) increased to 84,8 points, from 83,1 points in November. Although it partially recovered from the decline registered in the last 2 months, the indicator remains below the level of 86,9 in October. In January 2020, before confidence was diminished by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the indicator stood at 105,4 points.

Compared to November, confidence recovered slightly in all sectors. The most considerable improvement was in the construction sector, where the confidence indicator rose by 3 points, from -14,7 points, to -11,7 points. A significant improvement in perception was also recorded in industry (+2 points, to -6,1 points).

Since nothing escapes the touch of the fatal virus, it was inevitable that our words, all of us, would be felt. Linguists, sociologists, psychologists are faced with an imposing wave of unprocessed raw material, with new research territories, with a new specialized inquiry. A new type of discourse, a new dimension of communication, a new type of argumentation appear. I can't help but join this revolutionary dialectic. Some initial findings:

1) A paradox that had been announced for a long time on the horizon, but which now has an increased relevance, was accentuated. It is about the relationship between isolation and crowding, between communication and loneliness. You are "recorded" at home, but you talk to the whole planet... You receive all kinds of messages, redistribute them or trigger new series of informative "calls": your own interpretations, good news, bad news, conspiratorial scenarios, banks. As for me, I prefer the benches... One of them seemed downright metaphysical to me: a caring citizen washes "correctly hygienically", bathes in disinfectant gel, puts on a mask and glasses, dresses in a strict white overalls, protective, after which, in sanitary armor, he leaves the house to go about his business. But as he reaches the street, he is run over by a car. Epictetus would have had something to comment: you can only protect yourself from what depends on you. What does not depend on you can neither be anticipated nor avoided. On the other hand, contextually speaking, you have a duty not to make light of what depends by you. The rest is Providence, Fate, Hazard or whatever we want to call it, depending on our speculative location...

2) The unexpected compatibility between "progress" and vulnerability became apparent. We are more and more glorious in attack and more and more shaky in defense. I have subdued "nature", but her roar is devastating. I learned the secrets of the universe, but I forgot how to wash hands. Victors in times. Civilizing euphoria turns out to be a tragico-comic form of somnambulism.

3) Real drama often has the complementary nimbus of stupidity. Pompous and empty rhetorical species are very successful: a) Apocalyptic Speech: "it's over", we are the last generation. Of course, the global end is - has always been - a possibility, but not one that can be scientifically or prophetically argued. You can't turn nothingness into future theory, the death of humanity into breaking news tabloid. b) "Wise" speech: "it will be fine", don't take the crisis seriously, we will get through this too! Papa, nani, laptop, movies, a well-deserved break in the living room at home. An opportunity to rediscover respite, the values ​​of intimacy, of dozing off "next to loved ones". It's OK, I'm not saying. Provided you do it voluntarily, not on an "affidavit". Not in the shadow of "house arrest". c) Conspiracy Talk: everything is an act. Of the Russians against the Americans, of the Chinese against the Europeans, of the world occult against the world map, of money swindlers who want to take control, of the enemies of the European Union, of the drug factories, etc. In short, it is about a minority that wants to take power, i.e. to become the majority. A small group that wants to subjugate the world, but mysteriously chooses its destruction as the first step towards this evil goal. They want to win, but to remain alone. To rule over nothing. d) Ideological discourse: this is where capitalism leads! Or on the contrary: this is where leftism leads! Or: this is where political correctness, globalism, multiculturalism, etc. lead. Obviously, all these historical "accidents" can be questioned. They all have their evils, their bleak unpredictability quotient, their "collateral damage" ballast. But if the fight against the virus becomes ideological, if we transform the front of "ideas" into therapeutics, the conflict into a solution, we waste time. Don Quixote did not win a single battle! Not even Al Capone! For now, we are not fighting with principles, but with treacherous ambition and our own weaknesses. Of us, of our institutions, of politicians taken for granted, of specialists who babble competently: the spirit is not good, but it is good; masks don't help much, they do; gloves protect, but they can fool you...

A doctor and her 12-year-old daughter created a clip about how the vaccine works. Laura Ghibu believes that it is very important that the authorities communicate simply and patiently answer all questions.

The past few days, a clip explaining the functioning of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech reached hundreds of thousands of Romanians. The material — which uses animations and simple words — arose from the desire of a doctor and his 12-year-old daughter to get the right information to as many people as possible. He did not receive money for this from state institutions or any pharmaceutical company.

Laura Ghibu lives in Sweden, where she settled almost 31 years ago, after her father arrived there as a political refugee during the last years of communism. He studied biomedicine, then, at the insistence of family dentists, he turned to dentistry. He specialized in oral surgery in Switzerland and Italy, and also teaches infection prevention courses for other doctors and holds health education courses in schools in Sweden.

Shortly after posting the Italian version of the vaccine clip, Laura Ghibu was contacted by Professor Raffaele Bruno, the infectious disease doctor who treated Italy's first case of COVID, who asked her permission to use the material in a company information for the Lombardy region, where more than 25.000 people died from the infection.

In the first days of the year, the Romanian version also circulated intensively, and among those who distributed the clip were the Secretary of State Raed Arafat and several communicators in public health, including Răzvan Cherecheș, Vlad Mixich or Oana Dimofte. The head of the National Committee for the coordination of activities regarding the vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, Valeriu Gheorghiță, asked him for permission to use the clip in the vaccination campaign in Romania, and the Ministry of Health shared it on Facebook. Until yesterday, the clip in Romanian had been shared 21.000 times on Facebook, and had 62.000 views on YouTube. Today Laura Ghibu also published an English version on Youtube.

Now Ghibu is preparing another video with questions and answers about the vaccine, made in collaboration with the University of Pavia. He says that last year was not up to us, but now it's up to us to make 2021 a good year.