The mayor of the southwest city of Timisoara wants parents and people passionate about education to play a greater role in the way children are educated in the city and has come up with a novel approach.
Mayor Dominic Fritz, a German citizen who was the first foreigner to be elected to run a major Romanian city, said residents were dissatisfied with the current system where the mayor appoints a representative to each school to help fix various problems.
Only parents and teachers say the city counselors are neither interested in the problems schools are facing, not do they come up with solutions, Mr Fritz was quoted as saying by presshub.ro.
The 38-year-old mayor who took office in September 2020 wants to change the way representatives are named to give Timisoara residents a greater say in the way public schools are run and improve the education system in the city of 306,000.
„Our goal is to attract Timisoara residents who are interested in education and have all kinds of experience and aren’t afraid to take courageous decisions that will benefit children,” he said.
“We want to open the city’s administration to Timisoara- all schools, with no discrimination, Plopi, Friedorf and Lipoveni,” he said naming various districts. There are an estimated 80 schools in the city.
“I want to make a team with you,” he said.
He said local residents who were passionate about educating children, who are longing for reforms and have common sense, coupled with a creative approach had and 2-4 free spare hours a month were invited to apply for the position up until 22 February.
A commission of civil society representatives and city hall officials will then assess candidates.
However, he cautioned that local residents couldn’t be on the school boards where their children grandchildren or nephews and nieces were enrolled.
