Candidates in the local elections should undertake, through letters of commitment, that they will provide free transport for all students, support the School after School program and give priority support to schools from disadvantaged backgrounds – appeal of the National Council of Students / “Tragedy from the high school Odorheiu Secuiesc let it not happen again”

The National Council of Students addresses a call, on Monday, to the candidates in the upcoming local elections to assume, by signing letters of commitment, that they will make education a priority of their mandates. Aspirants to positions in local administration are urged to assume, among other things, that they will ensure that students benefit from free local public transport, including metropolitan and county, a subject that has permanently raised problems in the relationship between transporters-the school system-authorities local, despite the gratuity provided by law.

• Candidates are invited to download, sign and upload the commitment letters to a special online platform hosted by the CNE website, where those letters can be consulted publicly.

The CNE urges candidates to undertake, in total, 21 points, from general issues (guaranteeing transparency and consulting students), to specific topics – actions to combat school dropout, support measures for students with special educational needs, programs to prevent unwanted pregnancies among minors, granting scholarships, preventing drug use and trafficking.

At the same time, the future mayors are urged to commit that they will finance school practice projects, that they will equip medical offices in schools. “I will support the ‘School after School’ program for primary, middle and high school students” is another commitment asked of candidates.

The National Council of Students takes up some of these requests in an open letter addressed to the same candidates, through which they point out in more precise terms the targets they pursue through such commitments.

CNE requests: transport support, access for students with SEN, canteen modernization, combating school dropouts

What CNE says, among other things, in the open letter, citing recent crisis situations in schools, situations in which local authorities had a relevant role:

• “We request the start of projects and actions aimed at reducing school dropouts within the locality, so that the number of almost 4,500 eighth-grade students who dropped out of school in 2023, the equivalent of 178 classes with 25 children each, decreases significantly.”
• “We ask you to advocate for quality inclusive education at the local level, and through the educational and cultural activities carried out by the local public authority, to facilitate access for all students, through mechanisms and tools designed to ensure the participation of students with disabilities. Banning female students from attending classes on the basis of gender is unacceptable, and the case from Bihor we must be reminded of this.”

• “We request that you modernize the boarding schools and school canteens within the locality, in such a way that the tragedy at Odorheiu Secuiesc high school not to repeat itself.”
• “We ask you to ensure that students benefit from free local public transport services, including metropolitan and county, road, naval, metro, throughout the school year, in accordance with all the provisions in force, under the law. Commuter students should not have to pay huge sums just to be able to attend classes, as happens in Hunedoara countywhere students from a precarious financial situation had to walk for miles to be able to benefit from the ‘free’ education, or even go to school only twice a week because they could not afford the bus ticket.”

The Student Council writes, in the open letter, that “investing in education means investing in the future of the community you are part of, it means creating a generation of educated, competent and civically involved young people, who will take Romania forward towards a sustainable development and thrive. On the other hand, to ignore education is to condemn your communities to stagnation and lack of perspective, it is to create a society without substance, without models and without goals.”

CNE’s open letter:

The commitment letter proposed by the CNE to the candidates in the local elections:

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