As communist society promoted the
\nproletariat at an ideological level, higher education studies were not
\nencouraged at all. College seats were just a few, exams were difficult and the
\ncompetition very high. It’s no wonder that in the early 1990s, Romania was
\nfacing a shortage of university graduates. In 1992, only 5.8% of the population
\ngraduated from a university. Since then, however, many private universities
\nhave emerged and state universities have increased the number of available
\nseats, and therefore the situation has
\nimproved significantly, but not enough as compared to the other European
\ncountries. The percentage of university graduates in Romania is the lowest in the EU,
\neven of those in the 30-34 age bracket: 25.6% of the population of that age
\ngraduated from a higher education institution, while the European average is
\n39.1%. Looking for causes, the poor economic situation of the majority
\npopulation and certain characteristics of the education system in Romania
\nalways come up, as Mihai Dragos, president of the Youth Council in Romania told
\nus:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Mihai Dragos:
\nWe must see what happens in the pre-university environment. Only 48% of the
\nstudents manage to pass the baccalaureate exam. Also, we must take into account
\nthe school dropout rate, which has increased in the past years, reaching 18%
\ntoday. Also, there are studies conducted by various student organizations that
\nindicate a high rate of school dropping in the university education system,
\nespecially at bachelor level. Some 35-40% of the young people who enroll into a
\nuniversity do not manage to graduate. Many times they get to study a field that
\ndoes not suit them and their realize
\nthat’s not what they want to study and decide to either change the faculty or
\nget a job and therefore they no longer have time to study. It also happens that
\nsome students can no longer afford to attend a higher education institution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
VF Unavoidably, furthering one’s education is
\nvery much influenced by financial and economic factors. Some families simply
\ncannot cover such expenses. On the other hand, there are many people who belive
\nthat there is no point in attending a
\nhigher education institution, as this doesn’t really help people become successful
\nin life. It’s a wrong perception, though, because studies have shown that most
\nof the unemployed are people with no higher education, as Victoria Stoiciu from
\nthe Friedrich Ebert foundation said:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Victoria Stoiciu: The question is whether higher
\neducation pays off. It is a costly investment for many people. Many people are
\nnot born and bred in cities that are university centers. Apart from tuition
\nfees, education entails a series of other expenses, such as those for living
\nand transport, which very few people can afford. The question then arises as to
\nthe cost-efficiency ratio: is it efficient for me to invest in my own education
\nfor four years, get a diploma that can only get me a poorly paid job, as
\nbeginners’ jobs are generally poorly paid in Romania, or to leave for Italy or
\nSpain where with no diploma at all I can get a minimum salary of 800-900
\nEuros? For many Romanians, the answer to that conundrum is : no, investing in
\neducation does not pay off, in the long run. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reality runs counter to the
\naforementioned perceptions, which ought to be amended by the education system
\nand the family, Mihai Dragos believes.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Children and teenagers do not get
\nany help in understanding the dynamics of society. Specifically, European
\nstatistics show that the demand for unskilled labour is on the wane across the
\nEU. Yet the demand for prospective
\nemployees who have graduated from higher education institutions is on
\nthe rise. One of the major global trends is automation, and many factories
\nalready used fully automated equipment for their operations. Certain jobs will
\ndisappear and the demand for certain skills will decrease. The labor market
\nwill be searching for people with a higher education degree. That is also part
\nof Romania’s long-term strategy as, if the country wants to remain competitive,
\nit will have to place itself in line with and prepare to cope with such trends.
\nOtherwise, we shall be witnessing a rise in the unemployment rate, which is
\nalready high among youngsters and we may not be able to deal with that in 20,
\n30 years’ time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
VF Searching for the causes of the
\ncurrently small share of higher education graduates, the Friedrich Ebert Romania Foundation through
\nthe Social Monitor project also took into account the so-called brain drain.
\nSignificant as the phenomenon may be, the explanations it provides are only
\npartial. Each year, only 10 higher education graduation diplomas per 1000
\npeople are granted in Romania, for persons aged 15-64, which is half the number
\nof similar diplomas granted in Poland and way below the EU average, the Social
\nMonitor has revealed. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Furthermore, knowledge for the sake of knowledge -
\nwhich has always been one of the intrinsic values of higher education – seems
\nto have become less attractive, according to Victoria Stoiciu: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Education is strictly approached in terms of
\nefficiency and the capacity to respond to
\nthe labor market’s needs. Such an approach is not wrong, yet it also provides a
\nnarrow approach to what education means in a broader sense, to what university
\nstands for. The role of education is not to just train the workforce. Education
\ndoes have that role indeed, but that in no way is the only one. Education is
\nalso supposed to form citizens, to train people so they can develop critical
\nthinking, to teach us how to educate ourselves or develop ourselves. That
\nidealistic dimension of education is completely neglected today. To a greater
\nextent, emphasis is laid on the practical dimension, and this practical
\ndimension is simply not up to the mark.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For this situation
\nto change, experts who coordinate the Social Monitor recommend an increase in
\nthe budget earmarked for education. In the last 10 years, the GDP percentage
\nearmarked for education has never gone beyond 5%, the lowest in Europe. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The percentage of university graduates in Romania is the smallest in the EU<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":44399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43622,43620,43621,43623],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-142362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-friedrich-ebert-foundation","tag-higher-education","tag-romanian-youth-council","tag-social-monitor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n