Daniel David. Photo: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
The Minister of Education, Daniel David, announced on Monday evening that he has submitted his resignation, stating that he considers his “duty fulfilled”, exactly one year after he was invited to take up the position of Minister of Education and Research. The message ends with a quote from the poem If by Rudyard Kipling and a reference to the philosophy of Epictetus: “What was in my power was done.”
Daniel David has resigned as head of the Ministry of Education. His resignation was requested by Ilie Bolojan
“Today (…) I asked the Prime Minister for my release from the position of Minister of Education and Research, by submitting my resignation to his cabinet. I recently received confirmation. Although the resignation is a unilateral act, I wanted it to be an amicable departure, as was our collaboration. It was an honor to serve our country in this position as a specialist/technocrat supported by the PNL, but not politically affiliated, for two terms – December 23, 2024 – June 23, 2025 and June 23, 2025 – (probably) December 23, 2025 – and I thank the country's president Nicușor Dan and prime minister Ilie Bolojan for their constant support. For me, they are both honest people and dedicated to the good of the country, so I'm glad we had the opportunity to work together,” wrote Daniel David in a post on his personal blog.
“I consider this duty fulfilled”
David says he accepted the post of Minister of Education, not being a politician, “with the conviction that, at a difficult time for our country, duty to the public good must prevail over any personal or professional convenience.”
“I tried, during this term, to exercise my position with rigor, honesty and respect towards people and state institutions, doing what was in my power according to reason and the common good. Today, I consider that this duty has been fulfilled. I did not choose these times, nor the problems of these times, only the way to face them. The reforms initiated, the decisions taken and the institutional frameworks set in motion can continue without my presence in this position. The mandates are, by their nature, limited, and the institutions must remain functional beyond the people who serve them temporarily. Yes, this year was difficult, because I chose to stay when it would have been easier to leave!” continued Daniel David.
Daniel David states that the decision to withdraw comes in the context where the main risks that could have affected the education and research system have been overcome. He says that, after the start of the school year, there is no longer any risk of non-payment of salaries or scholarships for the year 2025, and the European Commission has given Romania the green light regarding the budget deficit and European funds.
“After school started, I was no longer at risk with salaries/scholarships for the year 2025, and on November 25, 2025 the European Commission gave the green light to the country with reference to the budget deficit and European funds, I conveyed to the prime minister that I honored my promise and that we must prepare the transition to another minister, intending to stay (1) until we also adopt the high school curriculum reform programs – so that I leave the future minister a “hot potato” and, after a discussion with the prime minister, (2) until December, when the evaluation of the country by the European Commission will be finalized. As I stated before, the departure of the minister who heads the education-research system, one of the country's largest budget systems, could have put the country's international ratings at risk, where government stability matters. The Prime Minister agreed to resume the discussion in December, but once I saw that on December 12, 2025 the European Commission reconfirmed that Romania entered a good trajectory and European funds will not be blocked, my decision to withdraw remained this time final”, explained Daniel David.
The Romanian language curriculum, left to the future minister
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Daniel David states that he postponed the adoption of the new Romanian language and literature program, in order to reduce the polarization of the public debate, leaving this decision to the future minister.
“Anyway, as a result of respect for the public debates and for those involved, I postponed the decision regarding the Romanian language and literature curriculum, so the new minister will still have to adopt the curriculum, but I created the context of closing the polarization of the debate by requesting the specialized commission to take into account the following (I would approve it, if I saw these requests included): Inclusion of relevant suggestions, even if they come from different schools of thought; Flexibility of the program structure, by focusing on competencies and a reference list of representative authors, which can then be customized in the form of teaching method/logic and additional literary references by the teacher, depending on the class he/she has – so we return the decision to teachers and students, within some fundamental benchmarks (as we did with the alternative framework plans),” he said.
Daniel David announced that he would return later with texts of reflection on the two mandates and ended his message with verses from the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, which he says “helped me to have the psychological attitude for reforms and complicated measures in the political and fiscal-budgetary crisis that the country and our education-research system are going through”, as well as with a reference to the philosophy of Epictetus: “What was in my power was done”.
