Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said a new Education Minister will be proposed by the end of January, following the resignation of Daniel David.

'The resignation of Minister David overlapped with the end-of-year period, with the holiday season. We had two options: to find a quick solution or to resort to the classic option, with an interim appointment. We chose the second option, so that by the end of this month we can come up with a proposal for a minister to take over the education portfolio, so that together with the other colleagues in the government he can work on preparing the budget, which is due to be adopted in the second half of February,' the Prime Minister told TVR1 national television station on Tuesday.

PM Bolojan also said the next minister could be a technocrat or a politician, and the National Liberal Party (PNL) leadership will make a proposal following their analysis.

'In these difficult years it is not easy to carry the responsibilities of areas that have undergone restructuring, such as the education one, where your have major responsibilities, where your decisions sometimes affect tens of thousands of people working in these systems or even more. But my belief is that we will find a good proposal, so that a person with authority can take over this important portfolio for the future of our country,' he said.

Bolojan thanked the Education Minister for his work and for his 'personal sacrifice,' mentioning that 'it is not easy' to be a minister in these circumstances.

'When you become a minister or prime minister and bring authority, as Mr David did, you essentially put your credibility on the line, the years of work in which you built a certain image, and when you have to take measures that are unpopular - as we were forced to do last year - you risk that credibility being affected. But not because you did anything wrong, rather because you became a minister at a challenging moment, when, due to the very large deficits we faced, it was necessary to correct things, make savings and reorganise things in another dynamic. That is what Minister David did,' the prime minister added.

On Tuesday, Ilie Bolojan submitted to President Nicusor Dan a proposal to dismiss Daniel David from the position of Education Minister following his resignation.

According to a Government release, the interim role is expected to be taken over by the prime minister. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Irinel Visan; EN - writing by: Rodica State)