Ministry of Education and Research*
Available procedures
Admission to high school and vocational education*
The admission of 8th grade graduates into state high school education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out according to the regulatory framework approved by the Ministry of Education.
The admission of 8th grade graduates into state high school education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out in accordance with the methodology for organizing and conducting admission to state high school education for the 2011-2012 school year, approved by order of the minister of education, research, youth and sports no. 4.802/2010 regarding the organization and conduct of admission to state high school education for the 2011-2012 school year.
The aptitude tests organized for admission in the 2018-2019 school year in vocational high schools are carried out in accordance with the methodology for organizing and conducting and the structure of the aptitude tests for admission to vocational high schools, provided in annex no. 3 to the order of the minister of national education no. 4.432/2014, with subsequent amendments.
The admission of 8th grade graduates into state professional education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out in accordance with the Methodology for organizing and conducting admission to state professional education, approved by Order of the Minister of National Education and Scientific Research no. 5.068/2016.
The admission of 8th grade graduates into dual professional education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out in accordance with the framework methodology for organizing and conducting admission to dual professional education for level 3 professional qualifications, according to the National Qualifications Framework, approved by order of the Minister of National Education no. 3.556/2017.
Candidates who pass, during lower secondary education, exams with international recognition for certifying linguistic competences in foreign languages may request recognition and equivalence of the results obtained in these exams with the modern language knowledge test for admission to 9th grade classes with bilingual teaching programs of a modern language of international circulation.
*Enrollment in primary education*
Enrollment in primary education is based on a methodology approved by the Ministry of Education.
Thus, children who turn 6 years old by August 31, 2018, inclusive, must be enrolled in the preparatory class, in accordance with the Education Law.
Parents must go to school inspectorates and educational institutions, which are obligated to provide information and counseling regarding enrollment.
At the headquarters of inspectorates and educational institutions, lists with school districts must be displayed, and parents must be informed about the content of educational activities taking place in the preparatory class, the teaching approach, organization of the school schedule, etc.
Children who turn 6 years old between September 1 - December 31, 2018, inclusive, can be enrolled if their psychosomatic development is appropriate.
All educational institutions are obligated to provide information regarding the enrollment procedure of children in primary education regardless of whether parents are part of the respective district or not.
*The national program High School Money*
The Ministry of Education has been running the national social protection program "High School Money" for over 12 years, through which it provides financial support for students in high schools and schools of arts and trades.
For students who wish to obtain this financial support, we have launched the High School Money portal, which, together with the discussion forum dedicated to this national program, represents an efficient means of information.
Beneficiaries are students who are dependent on families whose gross monthly income per family member, achieved in the last 3 months prior to submitting the file, is a maximum of 500 lei, as well as students who benefit from a protection measure or are under guardianship or curatorship in case the above-mentioned income condition is met.
The documents will be submitted as copies, provided that, when submitting the application, the applicant also presents the original documents.
IMPORTANT!
By adopting Government Decision 712/2018 (available attached), starting with the 2018-2019 school year, each beneficiary will receive monthly, for the entire duration of the courses, provided that all legal conditions are met, the amount of 250 lei/month.
In addition to indexing this amount (from 180 lei/month), the maximum threshold for granting the scholarship was also increased from 150 lei to 500 lei/family member, given the need to correlate the granting threshold with the current economic situation.
The School After School Program*
The "School after School" Program (ȘDȘ) is a program complementary to the compulsory school program, which offers opportunities for formal and non-formal learning, for consolidating competences, remedial learning, and accelerated learning through educational, recreational, and leisure activities, and targets both primary and secondary education students.
The SDS program can take place before or after the compulsory school program (depending on the schedule of each level of study), at the schools, if they have the necessary material and human resources to organize this program.
In primary education, the SDS program includes activities with specialized support (supervision and guidance in doing homework, recovery for students with cognitive, emotional difficulties, speech disorders through remedial activities, counseling, speech therapy, activities to encourage independent reading, etc.), workshops/thematic activities, and other recreational activities.
Each school, depending on the target group, forms modules of activity packages by combining the activities mentioned above.
In secondary education, the SDS program includes the package of activities for learning acceleration and performance (preparation for participation in competitions and school Olympiads, sports, artistic, subject-specific competitions, participation/organization of festivals, exhibitions, production of school publications, participation in European cooperation activities), the support activity package (providing psycho-pedagogical assistance for bridging learning gaps, support activities for homework, remedial activities, psychological counseling) and the preparation for life package (organizing personal development activities, activities aiming at developing active attitudes and student involvement, healthy lifestyle, career education, etc).
The program can be organized in modules, in time units established at the level of the educational institution according to the target group and identified needs, by combining packages of activities oriented towards the development of transferable competencies.
The program is implemented in groups of students (maximum 12 students), formed according to identified options and needs. The activities are designed, organized, and supported by teaching staff from primary and secondary education, counselors, support teachers, librarians, speech therapists, laboratory assistants, pedagogues, coaches, school mediators, volunteers from the school, from partner authorized institutions and organizations.
*The national social program "Professional Scholarship"*
“Professional scholarship” is a national social program addressed to all students attending vocational education and consists of monthly financial support.
Children of foreigners who benefit from a form of protection in Romania or foreigners, respectively citizens of the European Union/Economic European Area and the Swiss Confederation with the right of residence in Romania, who attend vocational education, also benefit from the “Professional scholarship”.
Vocational education students cannot benefit simultaneously from the “Professional scholarship” and the financial support granted to students within the national social protection program “Money for high school”.
At the level of the Ministry of Education, a national commission is established to monitor the granting of the “Professional scholarship”.
*Issuing duplicates of study documents*
In the case of incorrect completion due to the fault of the educational institution issuing the original certificate, or in the case of presenting the original certificate damaged to the extent that it can no longer produce the effects for which it was issued, based on a written request from the applicant, the educational institution that issued the respective certificate issues a duplicate, drawn up based on the documents found in the archive of the educational institution from which the applicant's academic situation results.
In case of loss, destruction, or theft of the original certificate, the request for issuing the duplicate is accompanied by the following documents, which are archived with a retention period of 100 years at the school inspectorate, and copies certified as "true to original" at the educational institution:
a) the notarial/consular declaration, given by the certificate holder, which includes all necessary identification elements, the circumstances in which the original certificate was lost, as well as other clarifications confirming the disappearance of the respective certificate. The following mention is mandatory: "the original certificate was not pledged/guaranteed at any state or private institution, in the country or abroad, and was not knowingly transferred to any other natural or legal person";
b) proof of publication of the loss, destruction, or theft of the certificate in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part III;
c) notarized copy of the birth/marriage certificate;
d) two color photographs, size 3 x 4 cm;
e) written approval from the board of administration of the school inspectorate for issuing the duplicate, following the documents submitted by the educational institution.
ORDER No. 3844/2016 of May 24, 2016 for the approval of the Regulation regarding the regime of study certificates and school documents managed by pre-university educational institutions
*Certification of qualification for graduates of high school education, technological stream*
The National Baccalaureate Examination*
The Second Chance Program*
The “Second Chance” program is addressed to adolescents, young people, adults, coming from various social backgrounds and with different ages, who have not attended or have not completed primary and secondary education. The program offers these categories of people the possibility to continue and complete compulsory education without having to interrupt their possible professional or family activities in which they are engaged.
The program is structured on two levels: Second Chance – primary education and Second Chance – lower secondary education – the latter also having a vocational training component.
There is no upper age limit for those who wish to enroll in this program. The condition is that they have exceeded by at least 4 years the age corresponding to the class and are in the following situations:
For the program Second Chance – primary education:
- have not participated at all in formal – school education;
- were enrolled but dropped out of primary education – regardless of the time and reasons for dropping out;
- did not graduate, by the age of 14, from primary education.
For the program Second Chance – lower secondary education:
- have graduated compulsory primary education (including in the Second Chance system) but have not continued their education further
or:
- have graduated part of the classes corresponding to lower secondary education (V, VI or VII), but dropped out of school during this educational cycle – regardless of the time and reasons for dropping out.
Students enrolled in the program can have very different levels and expectations. The new program provides a transparent offer of modules that students can take to develop competences, as a result of participation in cooperative learning activities, in real contexts and with tasks and topics that meet their interests and needs.
Learning will take place in small groups (8-15 students in each class). The courses can be conducted according to several schedule options (afternoon or evening during the week, on Saturdays or during school holidays etc.) depending on the possibilities of the trainees and the teaching staff. Individual counseling hours for students are planned.
The program has a flexible duration. The average schooling period (2 years for primary education, 4 years for lower secondary education) can be reduced for each student, according to the competences proven, both in the field of basic education and vocational training.
Graduates have the right to continue their studies, according to the provisions of the law, as follows:
Graduates of the Second Chance Program – primary education can continue their studies in lower secondary education;
Graduates of the Second Chance Program – lower secondary education can continue their studies in upper secondary education (upper cycle of high school) or can take practical training sessions, after which they have the opportunity to obtain a Level 3 Vocational Qualification Certificate.
For young people in the program the graduation certificate will not only mean a personal success, but the chance for another day of tomorrow.
Enrollment in pre-university education for non-EU (extracommunitarian) students*
1. Enrollment in pre-university education
1.1. Admission conditions
1.1.1. Students from non-EU countries may be enrolled in pre-university education in Romania if one of the parents, guardians or legal supporters fits into one of the following situations:
- is repatriated;
- has, through marriage, domicile in Romania;
- is the holder of a residence permit in Romania;
- carries out, in accordance with legal provisions, activities on the territory of Romania;
- is studying in accredited state/private higher or postgraduate education in Romania.
1.2. Application file
1.2.1. The student's file is sent to MEN – General Directorate for International Relations and European Affairs (DGRIAE), by the County School Inspectorate (ISJ)/Bucharest School Inspectorate (ISMB) in whose area the chosen educational unit operates, and contains the following documents:
Copies of the identity documents of the student and the parents/guardian/legal supporter (student's birth certificate, student’s passport, parents’ passport, student’s residence permit, parents’ residence permit, if held);
Copy and certified translation of the student's birth certificate;
Copy of the court decision on child custody, if applicable;
Copies and certified translations of school records;
Application for enrollment in studies, endorsed by the management of the educational unit where the enrollment will take place.
1.3. Enrollment in studies
1.3.1. Enrollment is carried out by approval issued by MEN – DGRIAE, based on the educational documents in the personal file, without equivalency exams.
1.3.2. Enrollment of students from non-EU countries, based on periods of study completed abroad, proven by school records, may also be carried out during the school year, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the organization and functioning of pre-university educational units, approved by the Order of the Minister of National Education no. 5115/2014
1.3.3. At the request of the parents/guardian, the student's enrollment may also be carried out in a class below the level of studies resulting from the documents.
1.4. School fees
1.4.1. In compulsory education, foreign students benefit from schooling under the same conditions as Romanian citizens.
1.4.2. In upper secondary high school education, students from non-EU countries pay school fees, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 1/2011.
1.4.3. In pre-university education of all levels, foreign citizens who have obtained a form of protection in Romania may be schooled under the same conditions as Romanian citizens. The class in which students in this category who do not have education documents may be enrolled will be determined following an assessment made by the school unit nominated by ISJ/ISMB.
2. Taking the baccalaureate exam by citizens from non-EU states who have completed high school studies in another education system and are not holders of a baccalaureate diploma or its equivalent
2.1. Citizens from non-EU states who have completed high school studies in another education system and are not holders of a baccalaureate diploma or its equivalent may, upon request, take the national baccalaureate exam, depending on the profile of the completed pre-university studies, in an exam center established by the County/Bucharest Municipality Baccalaureate Commission.
2.2. Taking the national baccalaureate exam by citizens from non-EU states who have completed high school studies in another education system and are not holders of a baccalaureate diploma or its equivalent is conditional on payment of the school fee, according to the provisions of Law no. 1/2011.
*Procedure regarding the organization and conduct of the language proficiency test for admission to the 5th grade with an intensive teaching program of a modern international language*
This procedure regulates the method of organizing and conducting the linguistic competence test for admission to the 5th grade with an intensive program of teaching a modern internationally spoken language, at the level of public or private pre-university education institutions in Romania, based on the provisions of Art. 6 (2) and (3) of the Framework Regulation for the organization and operation of classes with intensive or bilingual teaching of a modern language in pre-university education institutions, approved by OMEN no. 4797/31.08.2017.
*The National Assessment of 8th Grade Students*
The development of specific evaluation procedures is carried out by NAEC, following consultation with the specialist departments of the ministry.
Coordination at the county/Bucharest municipality level of the organization of NE VIII, as well as the valorization of its results, is ensured by the school inspectorate.
Dedicated site for publishing results: http://evaluare.edu.ro
Special education*
Post-secondary education*
Post-secondary education is organized for professional qualifications established by the Ministry of National Education in accordance with the National Qualifications Register.
In post-secondary education, high school graduates with or without a baccalaureate diploma can enroll, admission being carried out in accordance with the general criteria established by the Ministry of National Education.
Post-secondary education is provided through post-secondary schools and master schools. Both post-secondary schools and master schools represent specialized training routes, with a duration of 1-3 years, depending on the complexity of the qualification.
Post-secondary education graduates who pass the professional qualification certification exam obtain a level 5 qualification certificate according to the National Qualifications Framework, corresponding to reference level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework (specialist technician) and the descriptive supplement to the certificate, according to Europass.
Post-secondary education is organized in post-secondary schools within high schools with legal personality, or in colleges within accredited higher education institutions.
Education in state post-secondary education is financed through the local budgets of administrative-territorial units, from amounts broken down from state budget revenues and from local budget revenues. Schooling can also be financed by applicants, individuals or legal entities, through a contract concluded with the educational unit that provides the schooling.
Credits for education and vocational training obtained in post-secondary education can be recognized for graduates with a baccalaureate diploma by universities, based on decisions of the university senate, as transferable study credit units for the bachelor's level.
*National School Supplies Program*
In order to stimulate school attendance, the School Supplies Program was launched in 2002, addressing students in state primary and secondary education, day courses. At the beginning of each school year, packages with school supplies specific to each grade are distributed.
The composition of the school supplies packages granted to students is established based on the Methodology for applying the provisions of Law no. 126/2002 for the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 33/2001 regarding the granting of school supplies.
Funding application submitted by the Ministry of National Education, at the beginning of September 2017, through the Operational Programme for Assistance to Disadvantaged Persons (POAD) 2014-2020 was approved. The decision allows, starting this school year, the purchase of supplies for preschoolers, and the supplementation of the packages of supplies granted to primary and secondary school students with backpacks.
*Higher education in Romania*
Higher education is organized in universities, academies of studies, institutes, schools of higher studies, hereinafter referred to as higher education institutions or universities, which have obtained provisional operation authorization or accreditation.
Higher education institutions are educational providers that carry out teaching activities based on study programs authorized to operate provisionally/accredited under the law, for initial and continuous university-level training, programs that operate on the principle of quality and the correlation of the educational offer with the labor market.
The national higher education system includes all accredited higher education institutions. A higher education institution authorized to operate provisionally, according to the legal procedures in force, becomes part of the national higher education system only after accreditation. For more information, you can also visit the website of the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education - www.aracis.ro .
Higher education institutions can be public, private, or denominational. These institutions have legal personality, are nonprofit, and are apolitical. Higher education institutions are legal entities under public law or, as the case may be, legal entities under private law and of public utility.
University autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution. Academic freedom is guaranteed by law. Public accountability is also regulated for any higher education institution, public or private.
By an annual government decision, the following are validated:
- The nomenclature of university fields and specializations/study programs per union
- The structure of state and private higher education institutions accredited or authorized to operate provisionally, with:
- fields of undergraduate university studies and accredited specializations/study programs or authorized to operate provisionally,
- geographical locations of operation,
- the number of transferable study credits for each university study program,
- form of education and language of instruction,
- the maximum number of students that can be enrolled
The mission of higher education is to generate and transfer knowledge to society both through initial and continuous training at university level, for the purposes of personal development, professional insertion of the individual, and meeting the competence needs of the socio-economic environment, as well as through scientific research, development, innovation and technology transfer, through individual and collective creation, in the fields of sciences, engineering sciences, arts, letters, through ensuring performance and physical and sports development, as well as the valorization and dissemination of their results. All these are accomplished in compliance with the following principles:
a) the principle of university autonomy;
b) the principle of academic freedom;
c) the principle of public accountability;
d) the principle of quality assurance;
e) the principle of equity;
f) the principle of managerial and financial efficiency;
g) the principle of transparency;
h) the principle of respecting the rights and freedoms of students and academic staff;
i) the principle of independence from ideologies, religions, and political doctrines;
j) the principle of freedom of national and international mobility of students, teaching staff, and researchers;
k) the principle of consulting social partners in decision-making;
l) the principle of student-centered education.
Structure of the academic year (according to Law no. 1/2011 – art. 136)
- The academic year usually starts on the first working day of October, includes two semesters, and ends on September 30 of the following calendar year.
- A semester usually has a duration of 14 weeks of teaching activities followed, as a rule, by a minimum of 3 weeks of exams.
- The structure of the academic year is approved by the university senate.
- When awarding transferable study credits for a semester, a period of at least 17 weeks is taken into account.
- The university senate of each higher education institution approves annually, at least 3 months before the start of the academic year, the regulations regarding the students' professional activity, as well as the calendar of educational activities specific to the academic semesters of study.
Admission to high school*
The admission of 8th grade graduates to state high school education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out according to the normative framework approved by the Ministry of Education.
The admission of 8th grade graduates to state high school education for the 2018-2019 school year is carried out in accordance with the methodology for organizing and conducting the admission to state high school education for the 2011-2012 school year, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education, Research, Youth and Sports no. 4.802/2010 regarding the organization and conduct of admission to state high school education for the 2011-2012 school year.
The aptitude tests organized for admission in the 2018-2019 school year to vocational high schools are carried out in accordance with the methodology for organizing and conducting and the structure of aptitude tests for admission to vocational high schools, provided in annex no. 3 to the order of the Minister of National Education no. 4.432/2014, with subsequent amendments.
Candidates who, during lower secondary education, pass internationally recognized exams for certifying language skills in foreign languages may request the recognition and equivalence of the results obtained at these exams with the test of modern language knowledge for admission to 9th grade classes with a bilingual program of teaching a modern internationally used language.
Teaching and research titles in higher education in Romania*
Teaching and Research Titles
Employment in a teaching or research position within higher education institutions is on a fixed-term or indefinite period. Employment on an indefinite period for any teaching or research position is possible only through a public competition, organized by the higher education institution, after obtaining the doctoral degree. See also HG_457_2011 (annex 8).
Only individuals who meet the minimum and mandatory standards for registration in the competition for occupying teaching and research positions in higher education, approved by Order no. 6560/2012 regarding the approval of the minimum and mandatory standards required for the conferment of teaching titles in higher education and professional research-development degrees, as subsequently amended and completed (annex 9), may apply for teaching and research positions in higher education.
The following teaching and research positions exist within higher education institutions:
- teaching positions:
a) university assistant;
b) university lecturer/chief of works;
c) university associate professor;
d) university professor.
- research positions:
a) research assistant;
b) scientific researcher;
c) scientific researcher grade III;
d) scientific researcher grade II;
e) scientific researcher grade I.
The equivalence of research positions with teaching positions is as follows:
a) scientific researcher is equivalent to university assistant, for individuals holding a doctoral degree;
b) scientific researcher grade III is equivalent to university lecturer/chief of works;
c) scientific researcher grade II is equivalent to university associate professor;
d) scientific researcher grade I is equivalent to university professor.
The general list of teaching positions and auxiliary research positions in higher education is approved by the Joint Order (MENCS/MMFPSPV) no. 6419/2858/2011 (annex 10).
Higher education institutions with available positions can be found here: www.jobs.edu.ro
*Social vouchers for kindergarten*
Educational incentives are granted to children from disadvantaged families provided that the following criteria are met cumulatively:
a) the child is enrolled in a preschool education unit, according to LEN no.1/2011, with subsequent amendments and additions;
b) the monthly income per family member is up to twice the guaranteed minimum income level for a single person, as stipulated by Law no. 416/2001 regarding the guaranteed minimum income, with subsequent amendments and additions.
Law no. 248/2015 regarding the stimulation of participation in preschool education of children from disadvantaged families; Government Decision No. 15/2016 for approving the methodological norms for implementing the provisions of Law no. 248/2015 regarding the stimulation of participation in preschool education of children from disadvantaged families and the procedure for granting social vouchers for kindergarten.
*The procedures and calendar regarding enrollment/re-enrollment in preschool education in the year 2018*
The Ministry of National Education informs that, in order to enroll children aged between 3 and 6 years in preschool education, the following stages will take place successively in each educational institution:
- re-enrollment of children who are attending kindergarten this school year and wish to attend it in the 2018-2019 school year as well - will begin on May 7;
- enrollment of new children
will take place starting May 21.
The schedule for re-enrollments and enrollments will be set by the management of each educational institution and will be posted, in a visible place, in every kindergarten for the information of parents and interested public, including on its website (if it exists), and possibly on the websites of the school inspectorates.
Filling the available places, after the re-enrollment process is completed, will generally be done in decreasing order of age groups, as follows: large group (5-year-old children), middle group (4-year-old children), and small group (3-year-old children). Based on Government Decision no. 1.252/2012 and within the limit of available places, children aged between 2 and 3 years can also be enrolled in the small group.
In the situation where, in an educational institution, the number of enrollment applications is higher than the number of available places, general selection criteria and specific selection criteria will be applied successively.
The general selection criteria are as follows:
- existence of a document proving that a child is orphaned by both parents (the situation of a child coming from an orphanage/a placement center/foster care is considered equivalent to being orphaned by both parents);
- existence of a document proving that the child is orphaned by one parent;
- existence of a brother/sister enrolled in the respective educational institution;
- existence of a medical certificate attesting the child's degree of disability.
The specific selection criteria (developed by each preschool educational institution, approved by its Board of Administration, and endorsed by the County School Inspectorate/the Bucharest Municipality School Inspectorate by May 18) cannot be discriminatory and cannot include pre-enrollment lists. Also, the specific selection criteria will be applied only after the general criteria are exhausted.
To ensure the transparency of the re-enrollment/enrollment process, the management of preschool educational institutions will visibly display, for all interested parties, the following information:
- institutional capacity (the number of children the institution was designed for);
- the number of places approved by the schooling plan for the 2018-2019 school year (by age groups: small, middle, large);
- the general and specific criteria for children's enrollment;
- the number of children re-enrolled/enrolled daily (during the established period) out of the total available.
We mention that private preschool educational institutions are also obliged to visibly display information regarding their status, i.e. whether they are authorized to operate provisionally or are accredited by the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-University Education (ARACIP).
*