Abstract:

The recent years' changes in the Romanian education aim to achieve an educational system organized, administered and financed in accordance with European directives on the quality management of education process. The decentralization implemented in the Romanian undergraduate education system (RUES) involves the movement of the responsibility for funding and providing of the education services from the central authority (government, ministry) to the local authorities (mayor halls, county school inspectorates and schools). Considerable difficulties showed up in regard with establishing decisional boundaries of local authorities and schools directors with broad power of decision.

Changes in education by substantially modifying the legislation have increased the importance of controlling and strengthened its role as regulating/self adapting tool. National Education Law no. 1/2011 and subsequent methodologies applied in the RUES underlying the activities of all stakeholders involved in educational process: teachers, students, parents, school inspectors, central and local public administration authorities, others.
Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports (MERYS) through the Minister's Control Corps (MCC) are controlling the activity of all educational units and subordinate bodies, under the powers provided by the Rules of Organization and Functioning of MERYS, in accordance with the principles of: legality, regularity, transparency, confidentiality, professionalism, integrity, impartiality, non-discrimination, objectivity and proportionality.

Every employee authorized to control the education system is required to prove the integrity and ability to make prompt decisions, in accordance with the Code of Conduct, applicable legal provisions and regulations of the controlled units. Controllers (auditors/assessors) must be independent of: the controlled units, potential internal groups of interests, external concerned entities, or any kind of influence and they should adhere to a culture that promotes the highest ethical standards.

In the context of current legislation, new trends in the education controlling consists in developing of a multi level body of controllers, increasing the number of the professional controllers, training of the county school inspectorates management, schools, all boards members of the subordinates units on controlling and internal managerial audit, developing an integrate controlling system. The survey was performed on a sample of about 300 experts from the 41 county school inspectorates of the RUES aiming to collect a feed-back of the first stage of the implementation of new regulations about controlling based on professional ethics. The finding shows that MCC and specializes departments from MERYS should elaborate an integrate, multi-level set of procedures able to harmonized the standards and provisions of the Internal Managerial Control System, Regulation of Institutional Control, Code of Conduct & Ethics, national legislation, quality standards and professional ethics, other regulations. Also it should be a topic of interest the development of a positive attitude about the need and role of controlling and the rebalance it from external to internal in next future. Further developments of the present study will approach the same topic on Romanian higher education system, harder to be integrated due to the fact that the national legislation and regulations must be related with the university autonomy.

Keywords:

Education management, controlling, ethical standards, accountability.