08 - Romania - Financial support for students

All students benefit of free medical and psychological assistance in universities’ or other public medical and psychological units. Students also benefit throughout the entire year of 50% reduction of the cost for internal public transportation (except air-travel) as well as for entrances to museums, concerts, theatres, opera, movies and other cultural and sports events organised by public institutions.

Orphaned students benefit of free internal public transportation (except air-travel). Students have to cover for the costs of the meals and accommodation provided within the universities campuses. Nevertheless, through the complementary funding, part of these costs is covered from the state budget. The higher education institutions also have to meet the meals, accommodation and transportation costs incurred by the students’ practical activities that are deployed outside the higher education institutions premises.

For students attending public higher education, various types of scholarships are supported from the state budget and/or higher education institutions own revenues in order to improve access to quality education and to fight against social marginalisation. Currently, approximately 25% of the students attending public higher education are granted scholarships financed from the state budget. Within the structure of these scholarships (see below): 30-40% are social aid scholarships, 30-40% are study scholarships, 25% are merit scholarships and 5% are performance scholarships. The reconsideration of the scholarship granting system led to a slight increase of the number of the social aid scholarships and merit scholarships, and a significant modification of the number of study scholarships.

Furthermore, students may receive scholarships on the basis of contracts signed with economic agents and other legal and natural persons, as well as study loans extended by banks according to the provisions of the law. In practice, the latter is at its beginning, and Romanian banks have not been too sensitive to existing requests so far. Some students from underprivileged families, enrolled with tuition fees. Registration and/or Tuition Fees may be granted exemption or reduction of the fees, subject to the criteria and the decision of the university senates. The general eligibility criteria for scholarships are decided through Decisions of the Government, whilst the specific criteria are devised by the university senates. All scholarships are subject to indexation according to the current inflation rate and overall the minimum quanta of students’ scholarships have to cover for the accommodation and meal costs in the universities campuses. Every year, the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth confers scholarships for university and post-university study trips abroad on a competitive basis. The following types of grants are awarded from the state budget for students attending public higher education:

1. Students attending public higher education can benefit of a monthly or occasional 'social aid scholarship'. Monthly social aid scholarships are granted to orphaned students and those coming from orphanages and placement centres.
2. students can benefit of a monthly 'study grant', 'merit scholarship' or 'performance grant'. Study, merit and performance grants are awarded in certain limits to students with high academic achievements according to the general criteria established by the Decisions of the Government mentioned above and specific criteria established by the university senates.
3. According to the provisions of the law regarding ensuring equal opportunities for attending higher education (Law 219/2000) higher education institutions can constitute from their own revenues (extra-budgetary funds) funds for granting social study scholarships. Social study scholarships may be granted to students coming from families with an income less than the minimum gross national wage, according to specific criteria established by the university senates.
4. According to the Law on preventing and fighting social marginalisation (Law 116/2002), graduates of the compulsory education that continue their studies (in secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education) and come from families with at least 2 children and accomplishing the conditions for the minimum guaranteed national wage, benefit of a monthly 'scholarship for continuation of the studies'.
5. According to the Decision of the Government 1004/2002, students that were awarded distinctions in the international subject Olympics benefit of a monthly special performance scholarship named 'The Olympic Merit'. The Olympic Merit scholarship is granted at least during the following year the student was awarded the distinction.

Besides all the above mentioned support measures, the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth grants a number of free of charge/subsidised places in the students’ holiday camps every year.

Consequently, in the last years an increased number of students have benefited of the educational and leisure activities organised during the winter and summer vacations in various types of holiday camps. Subject to the provisions of the law and the conditions established by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth and the university senates, a number of students attending pos-university studies benefit yearly of scholarships. In most cases these scholarships are granted based on competitions regulated by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth and the university senates.

Institutions:


Ministry of Education, Research and Youth


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Date: 2009
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