Romania’s education minister resigns over plagiarized papers

Romania's education minister, who has also been charged with plagiarism for his PhD, submitted his resignation.

Romania’s education minister Sorin Campeanu, resigned on Thursday night as a result of a plagiarism issue involving a university course he taught his undergraduates in 2006.

An inquiry by Pressone.ro found that Campeanu reportedly plagiarized 13 chapters of a 2000 scholarly paper written by two other writers.

“I decided on my own initiative to resign from the position of Minister of Education. It was a chance and an honor for me to start the fundamental reform of the national education system,” the former education minister wrote in a statement on his Facebook page.

Teachers, rectors, student, and parent organizations, as well as education specialists, harshly attacked two draft laws on education that Campeanu placed up for public discussion. They said that the legislation will favor castes and discriminate against pupils without access to resources.

Campeanu, a minister of education and the proponent of the “Educated Romania” Project, also pushed for a bill that would have made his 2006 claimed plagiarism time-barred. The most severe penalties for the offense were likewise completely eliminated from the statute.

The public reacted negatively to Campeanu’s plagiarism allegations. In recent days, protesters and academics have gathered outside the Education Ministry’s Bucharest offices to call for the resignation of the minister.

Campeanu, who has also been charged with plagiarism for his PhD, submitted his resignation, which Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca accepted.

The prime minister said he accepted the resignation but stressed that he must soon find a replacement because Romania needs stability in the educational sector.

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