Rector Pricopie: Plagiarism is still plagiarism, regardless of possible legislative amendments

Rector of the Bucharest National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA) Remus Pricopie says that "plagiarism is still plagiarism" regardless of any legislative amendments, and the issue will never be resolved unless it is addressed seriously by universities and the Ministry of Education, Agerpres reports.

At the same time, Pricopie says that the decision-making bodies on this issue must be "100% politically independent."

He says that there will be other proposals to amend plagiarism provisions in the education law.

Pricopie argues that universities "for the most part have chosen the easy path - silence."

Pricopie's statement alludes to a proposal to amend the Education Law to grant "amnesty for those who plagiarised PhD theses before 2011."

Several Save Romania Union (USR) lawmakers said on Monday that they were dissatisfied with the fact that plagiarists were "whitewashed' under an amendment tabled with the Chamber of Depities to a bill amedning the eductaion law, discussed by the Education Committee, and said that if that amendment passed through the plenary sitting they would notify the Constitutional Court.