CNCD makes recommendations related to the granting of scholarships

School grants have become a real headache for the authorities. The National Council for Combating Discrimination recommended to the Ministry of Education not to make any distinction in awarding scholarships between students from the private, respectively confessional, pre-university education system, in relation to the state one. The Ministry of Education considered it necessary to make certain adjustments regarding the granting of scholarships for students, following the feedback received from the educational system, but also from civil society and social partners, Minister Ligia Deca announced last week. The Ministry of Education put the scholarship awarding methodology into consultation. According to a response from the CNCD to an address sent to it by the Ministry of Education last week, not granting equal access to the right to the scholarship system to students from private, confessional pre-university education in relation to those from the state constitutes a form of direct discrimination as it violates the constitutional principle of equality and non-discrimination before the law and public authorities. Also, the CNCD claims, access to the right to education under equal conditions and the right to protection of children and young people in realizing their rights are violated. According to the same source, the limitation of scholarship recipients to the category of students from full-time courses in state pre-university education only violates the constitutional principle of equality and non-discrimination, of access under equal conditions to the exercise of the constitutional right to education. "A differentiated treatment is created between the students in compulsory state pre-university education in comparison with the students in compulsory private, respectively confessional pre-university education, without there being any relevant distinction between these categories of students", the CNCD representatives also claim. The Ministry of Education must now make further changes to the scholarship awarding system.