Students complain that they do not have time for recreational, cultural and sports activities

Students want certain rights, well established, so that they can carry out their work in a balanced way, with time for recreational activities. The students demand the right to rest and free time, as well as a clear regulation of the homework, so that it is given in support and not for their assessment, according to a project of a new status made on the initiative and under the coordination of the Save the Children organization. According to Save the Children, most of the students who participated in a consultation carried out by the organization stated that they do not have enough time for recreational, cultural and sports activities, due to the "exaggerated" school tasks that are assigned to them outside the school schedule. Following the consultation, a group of children's representatives, volunteers of Save the Children Romania, as well as the representatives of the Association of Students from Constanţa, from Bucharest-Ilfov and from Vâlcea submitted, last week, to the registry of the Ministry of Education, a draft of the "Student Statute 2.0 ". The draft normative act was drawn up following consultations and debates that brought together in recent weeks over 1,100 students and their representatives from all the counties of the country, in a process coordinated by Save the Children Romania. According to the organization, the Ministry of Education is asked to include in the new statute the right to receive an electronic device with Internet access for online education and for virtual educational resources, respectively the regulation of equal and non-discriminatory treatment in school, based on the administrative-jurisdictional practice of the National Council for Combating Discrimination and cases reported in recent years at Save the Children level.

Non-discriminatory access to school is defined in the project so that students use all the access ways and, at the same time, their right to education is not violated for reasons such as delays or lack of distinctive signs. The project introduces a procedure for the protection of students who make various notifications in the public interest, so that they are no longer punished when they report irregularities and abuses in the education system, Salvaţi Copiii also reports. The document also proposes changes regarding the rules regarding the disciplinary liability of students, correlated with the provisions of the Civil Code, so that they start with the age of 14. It is also considered that the expulsion of students can only be done for crimes and only after taking custodial measures. The project takes from other normative acts the minimum regulations on hygiene and health that must be ensured in educational units and integrates both the rules dedicated to the prevention and combating of bullying and cyberbullying, as well as those related to the provision by students of feedback for the activity of teaching staff. "Student Statute 2.0" is supported by Salvaţi Copiii Romania, the Association of Students from Constanţa, from Bucharest-Ilfov, Maramureş, Timiş, Bacău, Vâlcea, the Union of Hungarian High Schools (Makosz), as well as the Coalition for Education Federation. The students request the Ministry of Education to take over their status proposal and form a working group to establish a form that will be subject to public consultation.