Romania's Education Sector Evolves Amidst Sex Education Debates and Political Pressure
Romania's education sector has witnessed significant developments, with discussions and debates around sex education and gender identity making headlines. Gabriela-Elena Plăpămăru, a scholar at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, has written about these changes.
In 2015, a petition signed by 60 progressive NGOs sparked intense debate. They proposed aligning Romania's sex education with the World Health Organization's definition of human rights. However, 86 NGOs with a traditional, religious, and pro-life mission pushed back, associating their solutions with communism.
Meanwhile, in Moldova and Transnistria during the early 2000s, education policies aimed to reshape national identity. This involved incorporating Russian as the official state language and integrating a new history syllabus. Amid rising illiberalism, Romanian democratic institutions face growing pressure. Illiberal regimes seek to redefine human rights, women's rights, and equality, putting family rights before individual rights. They reshape education systems to suppress critical thinking and produce a docile populace. The politicisation of education can take the form of restricting curricula, limiting academic institutions' autonomy, or eroding education quality.
In 2020, Romania's parliament adopted a law banning references to gender identity in schools and universities. This faced strong opposition from the academic community and civil society. However, the Constitutional Court later declared the Law unconstitutional, and Romanian universities continue to teach gender studies.
Romania's education sector conforms to a traditionalist illiberal agenda that promotes patriarchal norms and limits academic freedom. Despite pushback and legal challenges, the sector continues to evolve, reflecting broader societal debates and political pressures.
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