The Romanian Parliament has approved the amendment to the Education Law: Kindergarten becomes compulsory education, gradually, until 2030
The Senate has adopted, as a decision-making body, an amendment to the Law No. 1/2011 on National Education, which stipulates that pre-school education must be binding until 2030 at the latest.
The amendment refers to Article 16 which, in its new form, stipulates that
"(1) Compulsory general education comprises the last two years of pre-school education, primary education, low secondary education and the first two years of upper secondary education. High school education and the last year of pre-school education ( 5 -6 years of age)become mandatory by 2020 at the latest, middle group ( 4-5 years of age) until 2023 at the latest, and begginer group ( 3- 4 years of age) by 2030.
(2) The attendance of compulsory education may be phased out at the age of 18."
Thus, by the year 2020, compulsory general education will comprise the last year of kindergarten (advanced group), preparatory year (class 0), primary education (grades I to IV), low secondary school level (grades V-VIII) and high school education (grades IX-XII), totaling 14 years in the education system.
The middle group ( 4-5 years of age) from kindergarten becomes compulsory in 2023 and from 2030 the entire pre-school cycle (3- 6 years of age, begginer, middle, advanced) will become compulsory.
The change, strongly supported by ReadyNationRo, will allow a growing quality for the entire educational process.
Ioana Grindean, Executive Director of ReadyNationRo, says that "the status of pre-school education will fundamentally change: from a relatively optional stage which unfortunately is often considered a form of childcare provision, pre-school education will be treated with the importance it deserves in future adult’s education. "
The introduction of preschool education is a first objective to be achieved within the framework of the ReadyNationRo initiative to increase public investment in quality early childhood education.
Another change promoted and reasoned by ReadyNationRO concerns the financing of ante-preschool education ( birth -3 age group) and requires the Ministry of Education to set an ante-preschool ( birth to three age group) per capita funding level. This regulatory, also initiated by deputy Szabó Ödön, awaits the final vote in the Senate, after the Deputies Chamber has unanimously adopted it.
