More than 2000 new places for students and preschoolers have been created in recent years following the investments made by the local administration in the education system. Three schools have new gyms, 8 other gyms have been rehabilitated and ten fields have been modernized, and now all kindergartens, schools and high schools will be equipped with IT equipment as part of a 9 million euro project. An interview with the mayor of Sibiu, Astrid Fodor, about the challenges of investing in the educational system in the municipality.
Reporter: What were the main investments made by Sibiu City Hall in education infrastructure in the last four years?
Astrid Fodor: I know very well the challenges we face as a city in this field of education, in which the Sibiu City Hall has powers to manage the buildings of the educational units. This is because I got involved in solving them, given the importance of education for the future of young people and the city. In this sense, together with the FDGR team, we designed a strategy that we are already applying. And because I am realistic and know the procedures in the administration, as well as the resources of the city, the strategy is phased. We cannot instantly solve these problems, no matter how much we all want to. We cannot build nurseries, kindergartens and schools overnight. But we are taking decisive steps in this direction. I’m talking about numbers, not promises in the electoral key, so in recent years for preschool education, we built 2 new nurseries in the Ștrand and Țiglari neighborhoods and set up another 2 new nurseries in existing buildings in the Vasile Aaron and Lazaret neighborhoods. In total, we created space for 275 more children. We built two new kindergartens in the neighborhoods of Strand and Lazaret, and we roofed another 2, which today offer 280 new places.
The new nursery in the Strand district
We expanded 6 schools and high schools: N. Iorga, IL Caragiale, King Ferdinand and no. 13, as well as the Economic College. This means 77 classrooms and 1500 student places.
To these we add the energy efficiency of 4 educational units, which actually meant the modernization of these buildings, and we completely rehabilitated the boarding school of the Independence Technical College.
Sports in schools has been and remains an important component of our strategy. In recent years we have built 2 new gyms at the N. Iorga school and at the King Ferdinand school and we have set up a new gym at the IL Caragiale school. Another 8 existing gyms have been modernized. Ten sports fields in the schoolyards were modernized and we thus offered the students the opportunity to practice sports during sports class, but also after classes and on weekends.
An important ongoing project is equipping all kindergartens, schools and high schools with IT equipment – smart boards, laptops, web cameras – teaching materials, equipment for gyms and technical workshops. In total, equipment worth 9 million euros. The first equipment has started to arrive in schools and high schools, and we have ongoing procedures for the others.
And we continue with other investments that we have started or that we have planned. Because they are needed and expected by the people of Siberia.
Rep.: The biggest challenge in the local education system is insufficient spaces. How do you see this situation resolved? Does Sibiu have the capacity to provide enough places?
AF: Sibiu City Hall manages the premises of 50 educational units with legal personality. In recent years, however, these spaces have become insufficient, in the context in which, on the one hand, Sibiu attracts more and more young families who move here from other localities, and on the other hand, parents from neighboring localities prefer certain well-rated schools in Sibiu , even if there are schools in the communes they come from. I, for one, am glad that Sibiu is gaining new residents, and I will tell you exactly why: Sibiu is rejuvenating as a population through these new residents, and at the same time it is gaining valuable and necessary labor force for the companies in Sibiu. The only problem is that the influx of students in educational institutions has increased suddenly, and the local administration has no way to build new premises so quickly. And then this situation arises that can be resolved, but in stages.
Building a school in a certain area only solves the problem for the area in which it is built. That is why my approach and that of the FDGR team prioritizes expanding the spaces of existing educational units, all over the city, where space allows. In addition, we will capitalize on 2 existing, currently unused spaces, which we will modernize and transform into spaces for education – I mean the former Maria Tereza orphanage and the former CFR High School. In parallel, we will continue to build nurseries, kindergartens and new schools.
King Ferdinand school exterior
Representative: How do you see the involvement of the mayors of the neighboring areas in solving this problem?
AF: The municipalities around Sibiu have schools, some of them even modernized, but many classrooms are empty. This is because parents prefer schools in Sibiu. Moreover, some of them prefer certain schools in Sibiu, considering them more performing. And this is where overcrowding is born.
That is why, in addition to the expansion of the existing educational units, wherever space allows, I propose together with the FDGR team, a multi-year project, to be carried out in collaboration with the mayors of the neighboring towns, who will certainly be open to this type of projects: the construction of new schools in several locations near the administrative boundaries with these municipalities. These new schools would be used both for the needs of the Municipality of Sibiu and for those of the surrounding towns.
Thus, we have identified several lands on the territory of the Municipality that lend themselves to educational spaces. Being close to the borders with the neighboring communes, the overcrowding of traffic from these localities will be alleviated, as it will no longer be necessary for parents to cross the length and breadth of Sibiu to take their children to school.
The project is feasible and the solution is legally possible.
IL Caragiale School
Representative: You mentioned that you already have a strategy to solve this problem. Can you give us some directions? What does this strategy consist of?
AF: First of all we use all available spaces. This will be the case of the former Maria Tereza orphanage. Financing for the modernization of the building, which will result in 26 classrooms, in addition to laboratories, workshops and other offices, will be provided by non-refundable European funds. Likewise, the former CFR High School, a space that we won after years of lawsuits as a result of a retrocession request. After the modernization, 21 classrooms will result. In a building on Podului Street we will set up a kindergarten with 30 places.
The second direction is the expansion of existing buildings, where there is space in the yards. This will be the case of school no. 4 on Spartacus Street, A. Șaguna Pedagogical College and O. Ghibu High School, thus creating another 40 classrooms. They are all projects that I have already started.
We will build 3 nurseries with a total of 220 places on Calea Poplăcii, Viitorului str. and Ovăzului str., projects whose realization we have contracted with the National Investment Company. In 2 other buildings that we will build in Piața Cluj and respectively on Calea Șurii Mici, with mixed use, which will result in 60 places in the nursery and 100 places in the kindergarten.
Queen Maria School extended by attic
To these is added the modernization of existing buildings to increase comfort. No less than 17 educational units will be energy efficient, for example.
Our strategy also foresees the continuation of the modernization of the courtyards and the creation of new sports fields, including a gym at the Radu Selejan school.
This is a realistic strategy, anchored in the available budget and taking into account the availability of spaces.
Outdoor sports field at the King Ferdinand school
Representative: Even if the Town Hall’s duties refer to infrastructure, you are not limited to it. What other projects have you initiated in this field?
AF: Even if the local administration does not have legal powers in the educational process, in enrollments or in school programs, we wanted to get involved, given the importance of the field.
The most important project in which the City Hall has been involved for more than 10 years is education in the dual system. In partnership with schools and high schools and together with the business environment, we offer students with practical and technical skills the chance to learn in workshops that we have gradually modernized and in production units equipped with modern equipment. In addition, Sibiu City Hall purchased a plot of land worth 6.5 million euros located on Calea Dumbrăvii for the construction of a Campus dedicated to dual education, a project whose leader is Lucian Blaga University and will be implemented by a local consortium made up of 15 members .
The two event agendas, the Educational Agenda and the Youth Agenda, ensure financial support for projects organized by operators for educational purposes. This year, 24 projects will be financed through the Educational Agenda, and another 8 through the Youth Agenda.
As a way of encouraging student performance, we reward students with good academic results every year, the funds for the prizes coming from the local budget.
Local councilors Zeno-Karl Pinter and Bianke Grecu
A project we carried out with private partners is Smart Lab Sibiu, opened in Piața Mică, its purpose being the development of students’ digital skills and more. Our partners they equipped it, and Sibiu City Hall, together with volunteers from ULBS, ensures the courses are held. In about 1 year, more than 2,000 people have come to the Smart Lab and learned how to use smart equipment and computers, how to program robots, how to use virtual reality and 3D elements as learning tools, and more.
New body at the Economic High School
Nursery in the Vasile Aaron neighborhood
New nursery in the Țiglari 2 neighborhood
New nursery in the Țiglari neighborhood
New nursery in the Vasile Aaron neighborhood
The kindergarten on Lebedei street
Rehabilitation in energy efficiency Noica High School
The gym at the Nicolae Iorga School
The gym at the King Ferdinand school
School 21 after rehabilitation
IL Caragiale 2 School
Rehabilitated sports field at O. Ghibu High School
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