The Party of Socialists protested in front of the Government and accused the Ministry of Education of carrying out “the most extensive process of school closures in the country.” The party claims that authorities have already closed 276 educational institutions and plan to restructure another 73, arguing that these decisions will limit children’s access to education and accelerate the depopulation of rural communities.
Protesters demanded the resignation of the Minister of Education, Dan Perciun, and called for urgent measures to preserve rural schools. The Socialists insisted that reorganization decisions must stop and that small schools “should receive additional funding and subsidies that would allow communities to keep them open.”
The Ministry of Education rejects the accusations and argues that reorganizing the school network is unavoidable because the number of students has decreased dramatically.
“During the eight years of Communist governance, the number of students fell by 204,000—from 620,000 to 415,000, a drop of more than 33%. During that period, 61 schools were closed. Those who drove hundreds of thousands of people out of the country now want to politically capitalize on the optimization of the school network. Their intentions are purely political, with no real concern for the future of these children,” Minister Dan Perciun stated in a Facebook post.
He added that left-wing parties “are profoundly indifferent to the fate of children studying in very small institutions—without modern laboratories, without extracurricular activities, and without specialized teachers,” noting that “none of them would send their own child to a school that cannot provide the necessary conditions.”
The Ministry highlights recent investments in education, mentioning more than 2 billion lei allocated for school infrastructure modernization and 800 million lei provided annually for free student meals.
“We have launched the most ambitious educational infrastructure modernization program, the ‘Model Schools Network,’ an unprecedented project with investments exceeding 200 million euros by 2028–2029,” Perciun said.
The minister also clarified that the proposed amendments to the Education Code are limited in scope and affect “only 0.5% of students.” According to the draft, gymnasiums with fewer than 35 students will be reorganized into primary schools, while primary schools with fewer than 30 students will become combined primary school–kindergarten institutions.
He emphasized that all reforms will include support measures for students, parents, and teachers.
The Socialist parliamentary faction has proposed a moratorium on closing educational institutions. Their initiative came after the Ministry of Education and Research announced plans to reorganize 73 small schools—some into kindergartens, others into primary schools, and several into combined institutions.