The number of students in our country has decreased significantly in recent years, which causes a fierce competition between universities to attract them. Thus, more and more universities offer free meditations to high school students so that they are not left with empty halls.
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The Polytechnic University of Bucharest offers preparation courses for Mathematics and Physics exams, adapted to the requirements of the Baccalaureate, but also preparation courses for technical exams, such as Computer Science or Information Technology. University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” from Iasi organizes meditations for the Romanian Language and Literature exam, including the analysis of literary works and grammar, but also courses for the exams of foreign languages (English, French, German), with an emphasis on vocabulary and communication. At the same time, twelfth grade students could register for free online preparation workshops for the Sociology exam from the 2024 Baccalaureate exam until Tuesday, May 7, through the online form. They are organized by the Department of Sociology of the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” from Iași and takes place between May 8 and June 5.
From March 4, the teachers at Transilvania University in Brașov offer free preparation courses for the Baccalaureate in Mathematics and Computer Science, Romanian Language and Literature, as well as, for the first time, in German Language and Literature. In turn, the University “Babes-Bolyai” in Cluj-Napoca has courses for the Romanian Language and Literature exam and for foreign language exams (English, French, German), while the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca offers meditations for the preparation of the Mathematics and Physics exams.
And these are just a few examples. The meditations offered by academics are either online, hybrid, or in university classrooms.
What are the benefits?
Romania has the lowest percentage in the EU in terms of the number of people with higher education. Specifically, in our country only 17.4% of adults between the ages of 25 and 74 have higher education, according to a Eurostat report.
“The initiative of the universities is very good, considering that in Romania the number of students decreased from 900,000 to 450,000, i.e. by half, in the last 10-15 years. Universities are desperate for students. I do well especially for children who don't have money for meditation, because those who do weekly preparation since the beginning of the year, I imagine are no longer interested“, believes education expert Ștefan Vlaston.
For his part, Marian Staș, expert in education and teacher and coordinator of education programs, believes that this is also “a good mechanism to promote universities“. “There are at least two value-added elements to the process. Of course, first of all, universities can promote their style, culture and so on. And secondly, kids can get used to it, get a taste of what academic interaction at the university level actually means. Because, certainly, those people have a completely different vision and have a different position, in relation to high school teachers, part of mathematics, sociology, physics, and so on. It's natural, it's normal to be like that. Those people live in another academic film. And then, mathematics, and physics, and sociology, and literature, and all can be seen through other lenses from the perspective of some universities, which is not bad”he adds.
Other strategies for attracting students
But universities don't have many other options when it comes to attracting students. Ștefan Vlaston believes that pre-admission is “a very smart move”because universities can “win from the start to the disadvantage of others“.
And the rector of the Politehnica University of Bucharest confirms this scenario. “Already at this year's early admission we have over 3,400 candidates present. Early admission is given on the basis of the results during the years of study, without the BAC grade counting in this early admission. It counts towards the average from July, but if you want to enter the Polytechnic, you can do it and you will be enrolled provided you obtain the BAC diploma”, explained Mihnea Cosmin Costoiu, rector of the Polytechnic.
However, the problem remains in the case of poorly prepared children, who are 60-70%, explains Marian Staș. “And these children who have gone through a training program in universities have no way of yielding, because they are not able to go there, to understand people's words“, it shows.
Thus, universities “they have to put pressure to change the pre-university students, to make other kind of teachers, to put pressure to change the framework plans because the students are coming to them. The quality of the students is determined 100% by the quality of the graduates, or if the high school graduates are poorly prepared, they will not become students”. adds the expert.
Marian Staș claims that such programs are aimed at children who are already good: “Such a preparation process for BAC in universities is not an easy one, it is not a remedial one, but it is one that, by its nature, takes them from a relatively high level, to take them to an even better level, that's how things work“.
On the other hand, these meditations could put more pressure on high school teachers. “If students make comparisons between the work of the teacher and the understanding and knowledge they get from the teacher compared to what they get from the college, and if the difference is very large in favor of the college, then the high school teachers have to lose. The child makes comparisons, look what I learned in two hours from a university professor or a university assistant, versus what I learned in a month from the teacher at school. It puts pressure on teachers”, explained Ștefan Vlaston.
Admission simulations
“There are multiple differences between what they perceive, or how children perceive during high school and the actual exams, not all of them are prepared for such exams. And then, in the University, where exams are the order of the day, we are more attentive and, from this point of view, of the habit of the young brain to be face to face with the paper and the teacher, to be put in the position of perform within a time frame”, explains Mihnea Cosmin Costoiu, rector of the Politehnica University of Bucharest.
Another benefit is the admissions exercise. “Beyond preparation, we also have our college admission mocks, where the young person is put in a position to see what an early exam means, beyond early admission, we also have a mock exam, putting the young person in a position to see really and directly and truthfully what an exam and a test is and what are the problems that are being asked, what are the types of solutions that you need to address and so on“, he adds.
In fact, not only students from the final years of high school participate in these meditations, but also those from the 11th grade, even the 10th grade, who want to see earlier what an exam entails. “We give them an extra chance and I think that helps them and their families and the decisions they're going to make, because some find they're not ready for what they think they're ready for, some gain confidence, some gain they understand what the level is and then they approach the exam in a different way or prepare better for the final exam“, says Mihnea Costoiu.
Alternative: BAC, at the museum
Marian Staș believes that the Baccalaureate and the national evaluation are outdated and inadequate mechanisms, representing a waste of resources and time. He argues that these assessments have low added value and do not fit the school's philosophy.
“At a school like ours today, which is crazy, ferocious, demented, frozen in its previous paradigm, the project that I supported 20 years ago is like this: the BAC, at the museum. By this I mean in the following way: when the children did not remain correct, they did not remain repetitive, they passed in all subjects, and, of course, this also assumes that the teachers are for real, not giving silly grades: Go ahead with God and do your job, do your job, do what you want, if you didn't stay correct and finish“, suggests Marian Staș.
Specifically, the education expert proposes abandoning the Baccalaureate exam and replacing it with admission for those who want to attend university courses.
“There, in fact, what could the university students do, exchange this BAC meditation for some healthy preparation processes for admission to universities and take some serious entrance exams. At the moment, another reason why I say this so emphatically and unequivocally is that the BAC is a money-making machine. BAC is an industry of meditations and a money-making machine, just like the national assessment, with an educational value added for children under 20%, as it is now done. “They cut trees through the wrong jungle.” So they cut down the trees in an erroneous jungle“, concludes Marian Staș.
