The abortion of universities and research institutes will result in benefits for the whole system and the effects of this reform will be visible during the first two years, said Minister of Education and Research Anatolie Topală. According to him, the reform is necessary due to the demographic situation in the country and the deceasing number of students. No employee of universities and institutes that will be absorbed will lose their jobs, IPN reports.
The minister said the accusations that no consultations were held on the higher education reform are unfounded. This issue has been discussed since 2015 both with representatives of universities and of research institutes. The goal of the reform is not to save money, but to turn the universities into strong entities and to increase the quality of studies.
“This reform can bring only benefits to the higher education and research system. After two weeks of discussions, we ascertain that no one rejects the reform and no one provided figures to show that we do something wrong. It is the first reform by which we do not intend to save money. On the contract, we will invest 700 million lei in the modernization of universities and the effect of investments will be seen in a year or two. The absorbed institution does not disappear. It is only dissolved. All the contractual relationships, the property are taken over by the absorbing entity. When a smaller university is integrated into a larger one, all the contractual relationships are preserved and nothing of what this university achieved is lost,” Anatolie Topală stated in the talk show “Prime Time” on PrimeTV channel.
The minister said the opposition of some of the system employees to the reform is probably due to the fear to remain without a job. He assured that all the teachers of the absorbed universities will continue work and their labor contracts will be transferred to the new restructured entity.
“In the case of absorption, a post is definitely lost. This is the post of manager of the institution – rector or director of the institute. But this does not mean that these persons will be unable to take up another post at the new university. The absorbing institution takes over all the contractual relationships, including the labor relations, from the absorbed institution. The university will decide what post to offer to each employee in the new structure. Some could remain without a job at the absorbing university, but they can work at another national university,” said Anatolie Topală.
According to the Ministry of Education and Research, the reorganization of educational institutions implies the transfer of students, academic and ancillary personnel and property. The reorganization process will take place between the study completion period and the start of the new academic year. A sum of 700 million lei was allocated for modernizing the universities and developing programs of study this year.
