Sorin Costreie: “We cannot have quality education without a safe educational environment and without protecting both children and teachers”

Romania cannot have quality education without a safe school environment and protection for students and teachers, Education Minister Sorin Costreie said on Monday at Victoria Palace, during the closing conference of a European project focused on combating violence against children.

The minister noted that, although there is a National Plan to Combat School Violence, intervention procedures and anonymous reporting mechanisms, the problem persists. He argued that documents and projects are not enough without a change in mindset and without teachers paying greater attention to children’s emotional needs.

Costreie highlighted the importance of school counseling and criticized the continued existence of barriers to students’ access to counselors, including the need for parental consent in certain situations. The minister said that some parents may themselves be the source of the problems and called for the legislation to be reconsidered.

He also warned that the repeated dissemination of images depicting acts of violence may encourage similar cases. The project was carried out by the authorities, UNICEF Romania, the European Commission and partners from Poland.