Ministry of Education Abandons School Olympiads for Primary Cycle

Students in lower grades will no longer have to worry about the Olympiads. The Ministry of Education and Research will not organize school Olympiads for grades I-IV this year, given that in the primary cycle the ""basic elements of key skills'' must be built, and this elementary level must be developed at the pace of each child, stated Minister Daniel David. According to the minister: ""I see that the news that the Ministry of Education and Research is not organizing school olympiads for grades I - IV in 2025 is received with great curiosity in the public space. Out of respect for this concern, to put this in context, and then in psychoeducational depth, here is how things stand, for a clearer understanding of this decision: The truth is that the ministry did not organize school olympiads for grades I - IV last year (2024) either, so it is not exactly a premiere''. According to him, participation in olympiads organized by the ministry brings greater weight to the competitions, ""starting to stimulate too early an industry of meditations and too early focus on certain areas, ignoring others (also basic), which can distort the development of the elementary level of all key skills''. Daniel David explained: ""We replaced the assessment by grades at the primary education level with the assessment by qualifications precisely in light of the things described above, in order not to produce segregation between children (and schools) too early and affect self-esteem, it being important here to develop the elementary level of all key skills, at the personal pace of each child, not to make too fine (and often irrelevant) differentiations and too early between children. In the same spirit, at these ages the main aim is to develop cooperation and teamwork, competition, which is also important, but must be thought of at this level in this context.'' He added that, in order to stimulate appropriate competition, the ministry does not prohibit the holding of local, regional, national competitions assumed autonomously and responsibly by the school and in consultation with parents, which can enter into a more extensive educational portfolio, but do not have the weight and message of an Olympiad organized by the ministry. "Therefore, let's focus in grades I-IV on the rigorous and personal development, in as many children as possible, of all the elementary aspects necessary for key skills, without distorting this process too early by focusing on olympiads organized by the ministry, with too early emphasis on certain areas, ignoring others, but leaving schools the possibility of making responsible and voluntary comparisons through local/regional/national competitions that can be part of an extended educational portfolio," the Minister of Education added. Beyond this central decision, children in the primary cycle will have sufficient opportunities to test their knowledge.