65% of the teaching staff included in a study carried out by World Vision Romania warned over the need for investments in computer science laboratories and for other subjects. At the same time, one out of three teachers states that investments are needed for setting up or rehabilitating the school toilets.
Among the factors that demotivate teachers are the lack of an appropriate infrastructure, too many bureaucratic obligations outside of class and the busy schedule.
On the other hand, students also have some expectations in the new school year: digitization, hot meals at school for all students but also bigger scholarships, Mihaela Nabăr, the executive director of the World Vision Romania organization told RFI.
“65% of the teaching staff consulted by the foundation say that more investments are needed for computer labs and other subjects. Almost one in two teachers believes that more money is needed for spaces dedicated to sports activities. 44% want investments for the renovation of buildings, 41% for playgrounds and libraries, 34% for sanitary facilities (toilets) and 30% for the accessibility of the roads to the school, including the purchase of buses. At the same time, 87% of the teaching staff want to implement a hot meal program with remedial hours in all vulnerable schools, reasoning that such a package of services helps to prevent and combat school dropout“, reads a press release by World Vision Romania.
The factors that demotivate teachers are the lack of an appropriate infrastructure, more than one in three teachers say they have too many bureaucratic obligations outside of class, two in three believe that the school curriculum is overloaded or not adapted to the current needs of children, and one out of two is discouraged by parents’ lack of involvement in their children’s education or other family problems, such as the level of poverty or parents’ lack of education, the executive director of the World Vision Romania organization tells RFI.
Following the report, World Vision Romania found that one in ten families does not have even a single device for online learning. At the same time, one in three parents says that schools do not have enough computers and interactive whiteboards and one in 10 families does not even have a device in the household for online education. According to the report, almost half of the parents who have children in grades V-VIII say that it is difficult for them to help them with their Math lessons. One out of five parents finds it difficult to offer support to their child in the Romanian language as well.
“Supporting children at school, after they finish eight grades, becomes an even harder burden for parents. At the high school there are much higher expenses due to the need for accommodation and/or commuting. For this reason, but also because of parents’ disbelief that school can change their children’s future for the better and because they often do not see their children interested in school, at least 2 out of 10 parents no longer support their children to continue their studies in high school“, said Mihaela Nabăr, executive director of World Vision Romania.
According to the World Vision Romania report, students have some expectations in the new school year: digitization, hot meals at school for all students, remedial education, larger scholarships and investments in school infrastructure.