Six members of the US Congress demand Romanian Parliament to modify the law on education because it is in the detriment of university autonomy / Funeriu: The six congressmen were misinformed

Six members of the US Congress demand in an official address to the Romanian Parliament to modify the law on the national education because it is in the detriment of university autonomy, of democracy and academic liberty. In the letter address to the two Speakers of the Parliament, the six claim that certain articles of the law seem to be specially damaging. As a reaction, Romanian Education minister Daniel Funeriu said that the American officials were misinformed and that the Romanians will send them the English version of the law.

The letter specifically refers to article 18 that would transfer the patrimony of private universities to the property of the state; to articles 7 and 12 that practice age discrimination on age as it sees the retirement of professors at 65; to article 15 that promotes the migration of professors to countries less bureaucratic and article 6 that invalidates university autonomy and academic liberty.

Some of the congressmen that sign the letter are Joe Wilson, Republican, Walter B. Jones, Republican, Joseph R. Pitts, Republican, Frank R Wolf also a Republican and Mike McIntyre a Democrat. Romanian Education minister Daniel Funeriu rejected the claims of the American “friends” and said that they most surely have been misinformed.

Vice Presdent of the Education Committee in the Senate, Ecaterina Adronescu said for HotNews.ro that the appreciation of the six congressmen regarding the loss of university autonomy is correct. She said that the letter has just been sent to the Committee and was not discussed yet. She said the congressmen signing the letter are very important ones, with high positions in the US Congress.