| THE INAUGURATION OF A NEW ACADEMIC YEAR IN ROMANIA 01/10/2008 |
| (2008-10-01) |
| Last updated: 2008-10-02 18:38 EET |
More than 700,000 students have started a new academic year on October 1st. 500,000 of them study in state universities, while the rest of them have enrolled in private institutions. 150,000 students are enrolled in MA programs. In recent years, the number of higher education institutions in Romania has tripled, yet accommodation in halls of residence failed to expand at a similar pace. Also, one third of institutions were not granted a public health license.
Poor monthly wages, a reality of past years, prompted teaching staff to quit the system to pursue different careers, or to go abroad. Threatening to mount strikes, as they do each year, Students’ unions have asked authorities for accommodation in halls of residence, higher student aid, and changes in curricula. Despite glaring evidence, the Romanian Education Ministry said student accommodation facilities are a lot better than in previous years.
Two months ahead of the parliamentary elections, deputies voted a 50% salary increase for teaching staff, much to the government’s dissatisfaction, who spoke about populism and lack of resources. With the salary issue solved, trade unions in education have never ceased to ask for an education system capable of meeting European standards. And such a request is legitimate: a recent survey carried out by the International Association for School Performance Assessment ranked Romania 35th out of 45 assessed countries. According to the survey, the main cause for such an alarming downfall are the overloaded curriculum and obsolete teaching methods.
The survey also revealed that Romanian student’s performance is below the international average with respect to the reading and understanding of a text, as well as regarding exact sciences. Solutions to these problems so far have turned out to be improvised: students are crammed in authorized schools, retired teachers have been asked back in business, while empty positions were filled by substitute teachers. Aside from the last-gasp trimming and make-up placing carried out by the authorities, the media has found out that year after year the Romanian education system fares for the worse.
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2025-04-03
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