The reduction of student scholarships, in parallel with the maintenance of high salaries for administrative officials in higher education, arouses harsh reactions from university cadres. Experts talk about a morally and incoherently economically unbalanced decision.
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“To cut the students’ scholarships and at the same time maintain unjustified salaries for luxury administrative functions and immoral decision, but also devoid of economic logic”, says Oana Izpaș, a teacher at the Romanian-American University.
Romania continues to allocate below 4% of GDP for education, far from the 6% threshold provided in the education law. The available funds are inefficiently distributed, and their absorption remains precarious.
“Until Romania will treat education as a strategic investment and not as a breakdown, we will continue to lose generations. You cannot build a competitive economy without investing real in those who will lead it tomorrow.”warns Oana Ispaș.
Although the social scholarships granted to the students have experienced a slight increase in recent years, their level, around 900 lei, remains insufficient in relation to the real costs of the university life.
In parallel, the salaries in the administrative area of the universities, especially those of the management positions, frequently exceed 15,000-20,000 lei monthly.
This discrepancy reveals a deep systemic inequity, which affects equitable access to education and reflects budgetary priorities often disconnected by the real needs of students.
A systemic crisis ignored
“The Romanian education crosses a deep structural crisis,” adds Oana Izpaș.
“The current problems are not isolated: we are talking about an underfunded system, suffocated by bureaucracy and increasingly disconnected by the real needs of the society. The curricular reform beats, teachers’ salaries do not reflect the social importance of the profession. At the same time, students and students are increasing In a system that offers less resources and predictability ”, she explains.
In recent weeks, education unions have again drawn an alarm signal: the research is underfinite, the reforms are delayed, and in some institutions the restructuring scenarios have been carried. Officially, no one recognizes that there will be dismissals. Unofficially, it plays a pressing silence.
