Romania‑Moldova education reforms

In late July 2026, Romania’s Ministry of Education opened a public consultation on a draft procedure that would allow school principals, deputy directors, inspectors and other administrators to receive partial or total exemption from teaching duties. The proposal outlines conditions, documentation and reporting requirements intended to free leaders for management, project work, union activities and other non‑teaching responsibilities.

At the same time, Moldova’s Ministry of Education and Research announced a overhaul of its textbook selection and procurement rules. The new framework raises the quality weight to 90 % (down from price), permits early preview of 25 % of a book, requires pilot testing and public consultation, strengthens the National Committee for Textbook Acquisition, and earmarks about 150 million lei for roughly 80 new titles.

Later on the same day, Moldova introduced the thematic first lesson for the 2026‑2027 school year, titled “Independence that Unites,” as part of a Decade of National Values. The ministry will run online methodological workshops for teachers from 17 – 28 August to provide resources and guidance for delivering the lesson, emphasizing the country’s independence, democracy and human rights.

Together, the snapshots illustrate a coordinated push in both countries to reform education governance—Romania focusing on administrative workload relief and Moldova on textbook quality and civic‑education programming—while Moldova moves quickly from policy announcement to classroom implementation.