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.