The new school year could start in Romania without books for pupils in first and second grades, as the appeals to the tender for the selection of textbooks were not yet solved, according to a statement of the Federation of Education Trade Unions (FSLI).

“The children of this country deserve to find new textbooks on their desks in the first day of school. It would have been nice to be like that, as it would be nice, normal and civilized for this country’s education to be a priority for its leaders,” said Simion Hancescu, FSLI president, cited by local Agerpres.

He finds this situation to be unfortunate and is asking all those involved in the tender to solve the complaints as quickly as possible, so that students can receive the textbooks in the shortest time possible.

Each year, Romania tenders contracts for schoolbooks for all school grades, as there are many alternative school books on the market, and the Ministry has to choose its official text books.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com