Romanian Education in Romania According

Romanian Education

Education in Romania

According to the person I interviewed, languages spoken today in Romania are Romanian, Hungarian, and German. The society itself is in a transition period, speaking socio-economically and many transformations are taking place quickly. From a socialist society without classes, relatively homogeneous in scarcities and poverty, it turned into a brutal, polarized, even aggressively popularized society. Under the present market economy, there are economic collapses. It is a time of disintegration, failure and decline. From the standpoint of social ideology and political beliefs, the two essential legends of modern times have collapsed: the golden future offered by international communism and that of an imperialist dictatorship so much criticized by socialist ideology for denial of the social and psychological autonomy of the human being.

Education in Romania is transitioning into a higher level, where the Romanian adult literacy rate was 97.3%, or 45th worldwide in 2004, while the combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools was 75% or 52nd worldwide. This is a huge improvement for Romania, since 1989, because, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, up to 2006 no Romanian university was included in the first 500 top universities world-wide (Dumitrana 3).

There are new educational theories, new words and the creation of new myths during this 'profound moral crisis' of Romanian society. In the schools, however, life goes on for children. Education has been aggressively upgraded. Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, education and the role of the teacher have been in a continuous process of reformation.

Aside from the official schooling system, and the recently-added private equivalents, one may note the existence of a semi-legal, informal, fully private tutoring system (meditatii). Tutoring is used mostly during secondary school in preparation for examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is wide-spread, and it can be considered part of the Education System. It subsisted and even prospered during the Communist regime. Art, Romanian History and Geography are taught in Romania, using curricula and textbooks similar to those used in classes, teaching in the Romanian language. The examinations will be delivered in Romanian. In Primary School, these subjects will be taught in the mother-tongue (Ryan 12).

Primary school is compulsory for all eight years, with years one through four being known as "primary education" while years fifth through eight are known as "gymnasium education." Most elementary schools are public. Private elementary education has a 0.5% market share, according to Moldavia Education Corp.

Education in Romania is compulsory until the age of 16. In practice, given that most Romanians start school at the age of 6, the first ten years have been made compulsory by the ministry, starting with 2002. The educational system is nationwide and very centralized. In order to coordonate better with European Union Education, (Direc-ia General? Integrare European?

i Programe Comunitare -DGIEPC) was established.

According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the Romanian Educational System is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Research (Ministerul Educa-iei ?i Cercet-rii - MEC)]. Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years old. Schooling starts at age 6, and is compulsory until age 16. Primary and secondary education are divided in 12 or 13 grades. Higher education is aligned onto the European higher education area.

The Romanian Educational System is divided into two main levels, the Pre-University and the Higher Education levels. The language of instruction in schools and universities is Romanian, but Hungarian and German are also used for the benefit of the country's two largest ethnic minorities.

The Pre-University Level ("nv? mantul Preuniversitar) is structured in 4 cycles: Kindergarten, Primary school comprised or two 4-grade periods - grades I to IV and grades V to VIII, and High school (Liceu) - four or five grades (grades IX to XII/XIII). There are two categories of higher education: Vocational education ("nv? mant profesional ?i tehnic), which can continue or supplant High School to prepare students for careers that are based in manual or practical activities, and Higher education (Studii Superioare) organized (or in the process of being organized) according to the principles of the Bologna process, which aims at the construction of the European higher education area. It has the following four components: Bachelor-3 years in most disciplines, Master (Masterat) 2 years in most disciplines, Doctorate (Doctorat) at least 3 years, and Lifelong learning (cursuri postuniversitare, formare continu?), which includes postgraduate education occurring outside the Master/Doctorate framework.

The 1995 Law of Education is the act which constitutes the framework of the state and private school system. Art. 8. (2) of this Law of Education concerns the right of persons belonging to national minorities to learn in their mother-tongue and the right to be educated in that language are guaranteed under the provisions of this law.

Since 1945, the population growth of Romania's Hungarians has markedly slowed down. With the exception of the Szekler Region, where the birth rate still exceeds the death rate, the population decrease is due to the high death rate. Furthermore, emigration has significantly contributed to the decrease of Romania's Hungarian-speaking population. It is estimated that some 100,000 ethnic Hungarians have left the country since the 1970s (Capita 2007).