The System Of Education In Romania

Education is accorded a high degree of importance in the social fabric of Romania. Respect for the educated and the intellectual has been a tradition down the ages. Even the tiniest village in every remote corner of Romania kept important positions like the priest, the teacher and the mayor reserved for the educated. This tradition of holding the educated ones in high esteem continues to the present day as well. And the current education system is quite competitive for students and demanding for teachers.

Nursery school in Romania starts at the age of three. It can continue up to the age of six or seven, depending on the aptitude of the student. School time is usually from 8 a.m. till 12 noon. The children are taught to draw and to colour, are told a lot of stories and the teachers make sure that the little students comprehend what they are being taught.

Apart from all these things, the children are taught how to sing and dance, and how to be useful with their hands. They learn crafts like making paper boats and snowflakes and other things related to their immediate environment. Depending upon the profile of the school, they are also taught a foreign language like English, French or German apart from their mother tongue.

Once the students finish nursery education, they are tested by the primary schools they are going to go to. Primary education begins at the age of six or seven and continues till the students are ten or eleven years old. In primary schools too, school hours range from 8 in the morning till 12 noon. Children are not required to lunch at school, but are allowed to bring some light snacks like a sandwich from home. They are also fed a roll and a small carton of milk at school.

The curriculum in primary school consists of the Romanian language, Mathematics, Biology, History, Geography, Religion, Art and Craft, Physical Education, and a foreign language like English. In all it is a comprehensive curriculum, making the young Romanian aware of a lot of things about the world. Students are evaluated with grades like "not satisfactory", "satisfactory", "good", "very good", etc.

From the primary school, students move on to the lower secondary school. This too continues for four years. New subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and a second foreign language like French, German or Spanish are introduced into the curriculum at this stage. In the 7th grade the students have to take two national level tests in Mathematics and Romanian at the end of each term. Incidentally, the academic year consists of two terms, one on either side of Christmas holidays. There are holidays for Easter and the summer vacation is a longish affair from June 15th till September 15th.

At the end of the 8th grade, the last and the most vital in lower secondary school, the students have to pass a final examination in Romanian, Mathematics and History or Geography. Their results in this test are graded in a scale of 1 to 10. Depending on how they fare in this test, they can go on to high school.

At this stage the students have to fill in a form listing high schools and make a few choices in order of their preference. Whether they can get admitted to the high school of their choice depends, however, on the grades they score in the test.

Students, who have not fared well in the exam, can get admitted to schools offering vocational training, where they are taught different skills. On finishing these schools, such students, who are not academically oriented, can acquire a qualification.

After four years in high school, on the other hand, students have to take the baccalaureate examination and then they are able to enter a university for further studies. School education till the age of 16 is compulsory in Romania.