Emilia Șercan, after Marilen Pirtea was circulated for the head of the Ministry of Education: “Maybe Bolojan took him into account because he did not know about his plagiarism”
Emilia Şercan. Photo: Legal Resources Center from Moldova
Investigative journalist Emilia Șercan said on Monday evening that she does not believe that Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan will nominate PNL deputy Marilen Pirtea for the position of Minister of Education, as a result of Daniel David's resignation, in the condition that he is suspected of plagiarism.
“I don't think that Marilen Pirtea is really Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's choice for the position of Minister of Education. Maybe he took her into account because he didn't know about her plagiarism – with an emphasis on the plural – about which I wrote in 2016 on PressOne,” wrote Emilia Șercan in a post on Facebook.
Marilen Pirtea, third-term PNL deputy and honorary adviser to Prime Minister Bolojan, is currently the name being considered to take over the Ministry of Education, HotNews sources say. Another option is Luciana Antoci, state advisor in the field of education in Prime Minister Bolojan's team.
“I don't think that Bolojan would nominate someone who would then be forced, in a few days, to withdraw. But, no, the ways of politics are complicated, and I may think (too much) that Bolojan is a different type of politician than the ones we're used to,” continued Emilia Șercan.
Pirtea is currently also an honorary advisor to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in the fields of education and research.
In 2016, Emilia Șercan wrote in PressOne that several scientific articles signed by Marilen Pirtea between 2008-2015 “show strong suspicions of plagiarism”.
Education ministers who resigned after allegations of plagiarism
In May 2012, Ioan Mang held the position of Minister of Education for eight days, in the Government of Ponta, before resigning following accusations of plagiarism that appeared in the public space.
A similar case was that of Sorin Cîmpeanu, who resigned as Minister of Education in September 2022, after journalistic investigations signaled suspicions of plagiarism in several scientific papers signed by him.
