BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Thousands of Romanian teachers marched in the capital Bucharest and classes were suspended across the country at the start of the school year on Monday in protest against the restructuring of schools and an increase in weekly teaching hours.
Romania's broad coalition government is facing a public sector backlash and strong opposition to spending cuts as it tries to lower the European Union's highest budget deficit and unlock billions of euros worth of recovery funds from Brussels.
Since taking power in late June it has hiked taxes and cut spending, including in education, where it has increased average weekly teaching hours to 20 from 18 without raising pay.
The cabinet has also increased the maximum number of pupils per classroom, merged small schools and cut scholarships.
On Monday, crowds of teachers and students, whom police in the street estimated to number more than 10,000, marched in Bucharest, demanding the resignation of the education minister and the cancellation of the measures.
Some held banners saying "Higher teaching quota hurts the school" and "Education is investment".
"All these measures save very little money," said Mihai, a Bucharest high school history teacher who declined to give his family name. "Maybe cuts in the education system are not bad, but only when they come with actual reform."
Education Minister Daniel David told local TV it was unrealistic to expect the measures would be cancelled.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's government is also making cuts in healthcare, state-owned firms, regulators, and public administration, arguing that the burden of slashing the budget deficit cannot depend solely on tax hikes and the private sector.
Romania, which ran a deficit of 9.3% of gross domestic product last year, when it held four rounds of elections, aims to lower the shortfall to a little over 6% by 2026.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
