USR calls for an inquiry committee following the PISA results: “Former ministers should come and provide explanations”

USR calls for the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry in which former ministers responsible for education would explain the decline in Romania’s results in the PISA tests. The announcement was made on Monday by Senator Ștefan Pălărie, at Parliament, less than a week after the data was published.

The parliamentarian recalls that Romania recorded declines in reading, mathematics, and science, while more than half of the students fail to reach a functional level in applying mathematics. USR warns that the lack of political accountability could turn the results into a “deafening silence” and calls for hearings of those “responsible for education in Romania, former ministers,” so that they “come and provide explanations,” particularly for the period after 2012, since when performance is said to have steadily worsened.

The party proposes differentiated interventions in schools with very poor results, remedial education programs in small groups, attracting young teachers to rural areas, and investment in teacher training. Other solutions include mentoring for novice teachers and reducing the number of students in overcrowded classes.

USR maintains that the problems must be analyzed in the context of social vulnerability, excessive digitalization, and the shortage of staff and motivation in the education system.