The academic year kicked off on Thursday, October 1 with discouraging statistics related to the student registrations in Romania, but also with the authorities’ promising new measures to keep up with the system’s challenges.
While attending on Thursday the opening of the academic year at the Polytechnic University in Bucharest, Education minister Sorin Cimpeanu revealed that the number of students in Romania has halved, with the only universities that increased the number of students being the technical ones. For instance, the Bucharest Polytechnic University’s students increased from 25,000 in 2010 to 28,000 this year.
Asked what are the solutions to improve the statistics, the minister said that “each university must promote its educational offer, to make efforts to ensure attractive conditions for the students.”
He also mentioned there is a credit granting plan worth EUR 10,000 on average, which must be returned after seven years. At present, there are EUR 50m for seven years, which means EUR 7m per year and 700 students benefiting of these credits on an annual basis.
The minister further pointed out that 6 pc of the students in Romania are studying at Polytechnic University in Bucharest, where 30 pc of the professors are young persons and where most of the faculties offer specializations closer to the real labour market.
The president of the Polytechnic University Senate, Ecaterina Andronescu said that the University has been operating for 198 years and it welcomed new 5,000 students this year.
The French ambassador in Bucharest Francois Saint-Paul and the rector of the Bucharest Polytechnic University were also attending the opening.
2,000 foreign students are styding at the Bucharest Polytechnic University, with one third coming from the neighbouring Republic of Moldova and the rest from other 30 countries. Many of them come from Iran, Vietnam or Niger, according to the university’s representantives.
Proposal to prevent Romanian doctors to seek better jobs abroad
On the other hand, new decisions were heralded at the Medicine University in Bucharest. Health Minister Nicolae Banicioiu attending the academic year opening, announced his ministry along with the Education ministry and the “Carol Davila” Medicine Faculty in Bucharest are considering a project to stop the Romanian doctors’ exodus abroad. More precisely, they want that the med students who get state studentships to sign a contract that prevent them from going to work abroad during their graduating studies and during their internship in hospitals.
However, this is only a draft that would have to be compliant with the European Free Movement of Citizens before being tabled and enforced here.