PSD says Education Ministry intends to include History of Romanians in schools

The chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Victor Shelin said the Ministry of Education plans to include a new course called the History of Romanians in the school curriculum this autumn. According to him, the constitutional provisions concerning the sovereignty of the state and the right to education are violated by such an act. On the other hand, Minister of Education Mihail Shleahtitski said the subject will be named History, not History of Romanians, while the PSD’s accusations are absurd, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on July 27, Victor Shelin said the constitutional right to education provides that the person has the right to know the true history of the country and the Moldovan people that includes the young generation. He stated the students should learn the history of Moldova, which, according to him, started with Ruler Bogan. He also said that the ‘Third Reich’ was the only country where the history of nation not of the state was taught. According to the PSD chairman, the data included in the History of Romanians textbooks are erroneous and mislead the Moldovan students and thus should be withdrawn. “The Social Democratic Party is an extraparliamentary opposition party and does not have the power to ban the distribution of the textbooks in Moldova, but the party’s members are determined to fight the Romaniazation of our society,” said Victor Shelin. The PSD calls on Moldova’s Acting President Marian Lupu to make sure that the constitutional rights of the people are observed and to ban the inclusion of the History of Romanians in schools. Asked by Info-Prim Neo to comment on the accusations made by the PSD, Minister of Education Mihail Sleahtitski said that they are absurd and political in character. “First of all, the subject will be called History, not History of Romanians. It will 45-50% consist of the Universal History. The rest will focus on the national history. The new history textbooks will appear during the year,” said Mihail Shleahtitski. He urged the PSD leader to inquire about the new course and pronounce on it only after that. The Ministry of Education includes the History course in schools with the support of the Romanian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Romanians Everywhere.