The school inspection authorities (ISJ’s) in the Romanian counties o Sibiu, Timis, Suceava, Iasi, but also those in six other counties have been organising Romanian language classes for refugees from Ukraine. In most cases, those who teach Romanian are teachers who speak English, Russian or Ukrainian. This article shows where such classes take place and when (days, hours).
- EduCare is an Edupedu.ro project in partnership with Fundatia Bosch Romania, providing correct information and data in the field of education, which have been obtained from official sources, have been checked and are useful for the target group. This educational information hub. In support of refugees includes information about the activities and initiatives of organisations or entities aiming to provide assistance. The voice of the community is also listened to as interaction with Ukrainian refugees should be real and natural.
Edupedu.ro has requested information from county-level school inspection authorities about the Romanian language classes organised for Ukrainian students. Below is the data received so far.
In the county of Sibiu, Romanian language beginner classes take place at “Mihai Eminescu” school in the town of Medias, according to the school inspection authority. This school has collected requests from unattached students among refugees from Ukraine.
Schedule: 1 year-long programme, 4 hours/week per study group.
The school inspection authority informs that those who teach Romanian to Ukrainian refugees will be Romanian teachers specialised in Romanian and English language and literature, with support from Ukrainian teachers from among the refugees.
By the end of the programme, pupils will attend an evaluation session aimed at checking the following: understanding the global significance of oral messages, building coherent sentences on a given theme, reading texts and understanding their general significance, writing sentences correctly.
The school inspection authority in the county of Timis is also organising Romanian language lessons for refugees. According to the ISJ, the lessons will take place at the School no. 2 in the city of Timisoara, after 3 p.m., with Romanian teachers who speak Ukrainian.
The programme is aimed at providing the following skills: understanding certain oral messages, speaking coherent statements on a given theme, reading texts and understanding them, correctly writing certain texts.
The school authority in the county of Valcea is running classes in three locations: The County School Inspection Authority (ISJ Valcea – Monday 3.00-4.30 p.m; Wednesday 3.00-4.30 p.m.), at the Tourism Technological High School in Calimanesti (Thursday, 3.00-5.00 p.m.0 and at the Aurora Hotel in Olanesti (Friday: 3.00-5.00 p.m.).
Classes are provided by a teacher who speaks Russian.
The school inspection authority (ISJ) Iasi also holds Romanian language classes. The activities take place at the Romanian Language Learning Centre in C corpus of the ISJ headquarters on 26 Nicolae Balcescu Street, iasi.
The days where classes take place are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 4.00-6.00 p.m..
The class is held by a teacher who speaks both Ukrainian and Russian. By the end of the programme, beneficiaries will be evaluated for a certificate acknowledging their skills in Romanian language, according to the ISJ.
In the county of Galati, refugees can learn Romanian at the “Dunarea” High School in the city of Galati. Classes take place three days a week, two hours a day. The programme is run by the school according to the requests of the beneficiaries and the profile of available teachers, as the local ISJ informs.
The beginner classes are held by a Romanian language teacher. By the end of the programme, an evaluation of the language skills is held in order to establish the level of foreign children who are due to pursue studies in Romania. To this end, a certificate is provided by the organising school, containing the recommendation necessary or enlisting the child in a specific year of study. So far, Ukrainian children have been distributed to schools across Galati county only as unattached students, by request, according to the ISJ.
In the county of Constanta, classes take place at the National Pedagogy College “Constantin Bratescu” in the city of Constanta. They conclude with a specific examination at the end of a year-long study programme, certifying the level of skills in using Romanian language (using European standards – A1, A2 and so on). Lessons will be held by teachers with double qualification – Romanian and Russian language, native speakers of Russian language from the local ethnic Lipovan community in the county of Constanta, working voluntarily).
Refugees in the county of Suceava can attend classes organised by the local ISJ in collaboration with the General Inspectorate for Immigration. These classes take place at the Regional Centre of Accommodation and Procedures for Asylum Seekers – Radauti.
For children, the beginner classes take place throughout a school year, three days a week, two hours a day (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday). For adult Ukrainian people, an intensive Romanian language class is held with the same schedule as the one for children.
The Suceava school inspection authority has appointed a Romanian-speaking teacher with communication skills in French and English.
In the county of Arad, classes take place in 6 schools. The programme includes four hours of classes per week for each group. The course will conclude with an evaluation of the students.
In the county of Bistrita-Nasaud, activities, in Romanian language, take place at School no. 4 in Bistrita. The classes are held voluntarily by teachers in Bistrita and take place daily, according to the local school authority.
In the county of Tulcea, Romanian language classes for Ukrainian refugees take place daily, Monday to Friday between 3.00-5.00 p.m., at the “Delta Dunarii” Economic College in Tulcea and between 2.00-6.00 at the “Danubius” Professional School in Tulcea. The classes are held by Russian-speaking teachers. Activities take place based on a partnership between ISJ Tulcea and the Save the Children Organisation.
In Bihor county, the school inspection authority does not organise Romanian-language classes because there have been no requests so far, the institution announced. Courses are organised by “Filantropia” Association based on 2B Buzaului Street, Oradea. These classes take place twice a week (1 hour face to face, 1 hour online) between September and December. The person providing the classes is a Romanian language teacher who also speaks English. The programme has an Ukrainian-speaking translator.
The county of Cluj does not hold such programmes for the moment. In March-April 2022, classes were held at an Ukrainian-language faculty department at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.
In the county of Maramures, the local school authority is in the process of organising such classes.
In the county of Vaslui, Romanian language classes for Ukrainian refugees are not currently organised. The local ISJ informed that the Association “Scouts of Art” in the city of Barlad and the “Vasile Parvan” School are providing Romanian language, English language, sports and personal development learning activities for 30 Ukrainian children in Barlad and Braila.
The ISJ in the county of Brasov informed that it reached partnerships with two NGO’s, the International Migration Organisation – Brasov branch and the Center for Migrants’s Integration in Brasov, but it did not provide further details.
12 other school inspection authorities responded they were not organising any such classes. These are:
- School Inspection Authority (ISJ) Botosani;
- ISJ Satu Mare;
- ISJ Harghita;
- ISJ Giurgiu;
- ISJ Neamt;
- ISJ Dolj;
- ISJ Vrancea;
- ISJ Dambovita;
- ISJ Arges;
- ISJ Ialomita;
- ISJ Mures;
- ISJ Gorj.