Romanian education, between protests and reform

Naturally, universities represent the elite of educational institutions. However, as reported by a presidential commission, the Romanian university system is outdated, inefficient, as well as incapable of competing with schools in other EU countries and providing the local market with an adequate workforce.

This year, old issues were aggravated by the effects of the economic crisis, the drastic austerity measures and the 25 percent cuts off teachers’ salaries. With classes having just begun, university professors are protesting all over the country.

This Tuesday, with the observance of the World Education Day, protests are expected to culminate in a rally held in Bucharest, with union leaders expecting a participation of over ten thousand unionists.

Meanwhile, governing officials could endorse a new education law, already passed by the Chamber of Deputies, but stuck in the Senate. The bill was tabled by education minister Daniel Funeriu, who believes it is “one of the key steps towards the modernization of Romania”.

He also claims that its indefinite postponement could be the work of professors involved in politics and their “unlawful interests”. Andrei Marga is one of Funeriu’s predecessors as education minister, and widely regarded as the most prolific reformer of education in post-communist Romania.

He said that “everything done by the current minister is done poorly” and also that “the system is a mess, and needs to be set in order”. Marga also believes that Romania has “too many universities and too few students”, which makes academic standards drop. With figures on the table, the press agrees with Marga.


Of the over 600,000 students in Romania, only some 230 thousand attend public colleges free of tuition, while 250 thousand others pay for studying in the same institutions.

The rest pump money into the private education system, in recent years blighted by the so-called “diploma conveyor belts”, where money matters more than actual knowledge.

Media headlines

The Bucharest daily Gandul headlined “Paying students become scarce”, and blamed the financial crisis. With a yearly 10 percent drop in the number of students, Romanian education is facing the endless winter of financial discontent.


The opening of the new academic year illustrates the depopulation of Romanian universities, caused by the dropping number of high school graduates, fierce competition from schools in the west and household financial difficulties.

The exodus continues with students and teachers alike. According to the daily Adevarul, two thousand Romanian teachers from all levels of education have left their positions this year.


After pay cuts in the state sector, some teachers’ incomes dropped to under 200 euros per month, comparable to the salaries of unqualified workers. Additionally, it is claimed that the academic careers of many teachers are halted by a shortage of jobs.

Adevarul also wrote that “the rectors of some of the most prestigious Romanian institutions of higher learning warn that if the current state of affairs persists, young job seekers will turn towards other fields, and the quality of teaching will plummet.”

(Radio România Internaţional, Serviciul în limba engleză).