NON-STATE ACTORS IN EDUCATION
2.2 Non-state education provision
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
- Early childhood care and education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Primary and secondary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
- Tertiary education (Entry/Establishment ○ Financial operation ○ Quality of teaching and learning ○ Equitable access ○ Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability)
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
The general legal framework that regulates the administration, organization and functioning of the educational system in Romania is established by: the Constitution (Article 32), the Law of National Education no. 1/2011 as subsequently amended and supplemented ( henceforth referred to as LNE), ordinary laws and Government ordinances. The specific procedures and regulations are established by Government Decisions and orders of the Ministry of Education.
The LNE governs the structure, organization and functioning of the state, private and denominational national education system.
The national pre-university educational system includes authorized or accredited public, private and denominational/confessional education units. Section 17 from the LNE is dedicated to private and denominational/confessional pre-university education, which is organized in pre-university education units for all levels and forms of education, under the legislation in force and in accordance with the non-profit principle. Paragraph 3 of Article 60of the LNE provides that the private educational institutions are free and open institutions, autonomous from both an organizational, as well as an economic and financial point of view , and are based on the private property, guaranteed by the Constitution. These provisions apply to the private alternative pre-university education, as provided by Order no 5571/2011 on the approval of the Regulation for the organization and functioning of alternative pre-university education. The Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-university Education (ARACIP), public body of national interest, coordinated by the Ministry of Education (henceforth referred to as the MoE), assures the provisional authorization, accreditation and periodic evaluation of private and denominational pre-university education units. Accredited private and denominational pre-university education units are supported by the state. In Romania the higher education institutions can be state, private or denominational institutions, with legal personality (legal persons governed by public and private law, respectively), non-profit and apolitical in nature.
Higher education can be organized only in higher education institutions (HEIs) that have obtained the provisional operation authorization or accreditation, according to the law and the national higher education system includes all the accredited HEIs.
Article 227, para1-3 of the LNE states that private higher educational institutions (HEIs), including private denominational HEIs, are legal entities that can be founded at the initiative and with the material and financial resources of a natural person or a group of natural persons, of a foundation or association, of a religious denomination or an education provider, recognised as such according to the provisions of LNE. Private HEIshave academic autonomy, in compliance with LNE, and economical and financial autonomy, having as a basis their private property guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) – a national independent, autonomous, non-governmental, non-profit organization – performs the external evaluation of education quality in view of quality assurance and quality improvement in higher education, focusing on the evaluation and accreditation of study programs, HE institutions, master study domains, institutions organizing doctoral studies and doctoral studies domains, respectively. ARACIS is a member of ENQA, CEENQA, INQAAHE, ENAEE and is registered in EQAR while also contributing to DEQAR.
2.1 State education provision
State schools
In Romania, most primary and secondary education (covering 13 grades, beginning at age 6 -with the preparatory grade) is provided by state and local governments. According to the statistical data provided by the National Institute for Statistics, in 2019-2020 schools year, 98,7% of pupils in primary and lower secondary education, 97,8% of the pupils in upper secondary education and 97,5% of pupils in VET education were enrolled in public educational units. State education is free of charge. However, for some educational activities, levels of education and programmes of study, taxes may be charged, under the conditions set by the law.
The general compulsory education has been extended and now includes primary, lower and upper secondary education, as well as the final stage of preschool education (“grupa mare”- the last kindergarten group with respect to children’s age). In addition, LNE provides for the further gradual extension of the general compulsory education in view of including the entire pre-school education (for children aged 3 to 6 years old) (Article 16, para 1, LNE).
The funding of pre-university education units encompasses the basic funding, the complementary funding and the additional funding.
The state ensures the basic funding for all pre-schoolers (aged 0 to 6 years old) and pupils enrolled in state pre-university education, as well as for the pre-schoolers and pupils enrolled in accredited private and denominational pre-university education (with the exception of non-university tertiary education). The basic funding, which ensures the operation of the educational process at pre-university level in line with the national standards, is done according to the principle the financial resource follows the pupil, that is, the budgetary allocation due to a pupil, a pre-schooler or a pre-schooler aged 0 to 3 years old, is transferred to the educational unit attended by the respective pupil/pre-schooler.
The basic funding is ensured from the state budget to cover the following types of expenses: the expenses with salaries and the amounts of other benefits (bonuses, allowances and other salary rights in cash), the expenses with trainings (which include the expenses related to the continuous training and evaluation of staff in pre-university educational establishments), the expenses for the regular assessment of pupils and expenses with goods and services.
The basic funding of an education unit results from multiplying the standard cost per pupil / pre-schooler aged 0 to 3 years old with school-specific coefficients and the number of pupils/ pre-schoolers. The MoE, through its specialized body, sets the annual standard cost per pupil/ pre-schooler/ pre-schooler aged 0 to 3 years old. The basic funding is approved annually by the Law on the State’s budget.
The complementary funding covers the capital expenditures, the social expenditures and other expenditures associated with the state pre-university education process which are not covered by the basic financing of school units and is approved annually by the Law on the State’s budget.
The additional funding is granted as a fixed global amount from the budget of the Ministry of Education for awarding state pre-university educational establishments with outstanding results in the field of inclusion or of education performance. The local and county councils and the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, respectively, contribute to the additional financing, offering grants to the educational establishments, based on their own methodology.
Non-state managed, state schools
No information was found.
Non-state funded, state schools
As already mentioned all state pre-university educational units are funded by the state. In addition, state pre-university educational units may obtain and use their own income sources (sponsorships, donations or other legally approved sources), apart from the basic financing, as provided by LNE. These revenues do not diminish the basic, supplementary or additional funding and are used in accordance with the decisions of the pre-university unit’s Management Board. At the end of the budget year, the unspent amounts remain in the account of the educational unit and are carried over to the next annual budget (Article 108, para 1-2, LNE).
As general provision, education may be financed directly by economic operators (such as business entities), as well as by other natural or legal persons. Also, education may be supported through scholarships, study loans, taxes, donations, sponsorships, own sources, and other legal sources (Article 9, para 6-7, LNE).
2.2 Non-state education provision
Independent, non-state schools
Private schools in Romania are established and managed by private institutions, including commercial companies and religious organizations. The level of independence varies according to the level of education (at preschool, primary and secondary level they have to follow a national curriculum, while at post-secondary and higher education level, they have academic freedom and financial independence).
The financing of accredited private and denominational pre-university education is made from taxes, public funds, in the case of pre-school and compulsory education, as well as from other sources, according to the law. The State ensures the basic funding for all pre-schoolers and for all pupils attending accredited private and denominational pre-university education (primary and secondary education, including TVET) (Article 102 para 2, LNE).In addition, the private pre-university education is financed through the tuition fees levied by the respective education units, which are set by each units’ management board, under the law (Article 101 para 3, LNE).
State-funded (government-aided), non-state schools
As mentioned above, the state provides the private and denominational pre-university education units the basic funding.
Contracted, non-state schools
Not applicable.
2.3 Other types of schools
Dual VET education (ISCED 3)
In Romania TVET (Technical, Vocational Education and Training) is composed of the following: Professional Education, Technological High-School Education, Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 81/2016 introduced dual VET education at EQF (European Qualification Framework) levels 3, 4 and 5. It was endorsed in April 2018 by Law no. 82 regarding the modification and completion of the LNE.Dual VET education, which incorporates a partnership with employers, is a form of organization of technical and vocational secondary education. It is organized in a unitary framework, by educational units at the request of economic operators or of interested associative structures, such as chambers of commerce, employers’ associations, clusters in the capacity of potential employers and apprenticeship partners. The methodology for organizing these educational units is specified in the ministerial order no 3554/2017. The organization of this form of education is supervised by the National Centre for the Development of Vocational and Technical Education (CNDIPT)
Dual VET education functions on a contract-based manner, which involves the conclusion of a partnership contract between one or more economic operators or associations/consortium of economic operators, the educational unit and the concerned administrative-territorial unit. The contract provides for the parties’ rights and obligations, as well as for the costs assumed by the partners. In addition, individual contracts for practical training are concluded between the student or the parent/ the legal guardian of the minor student, the economic operator and the educational unit.
The students involved in dual VET must be lower secondary programs graduates (usually, 14-15 years old) and under 26 years old. The students benefit from vocational scholarships (200 lei – from the state budget) and a monthly scholarship from the concerned economic operators (minimum 200 lei), as well as other facilities.
Homeschooling
In Romania, homeschooling is not accredited.
At the same time, according to Article 86(3) from the LNE, parents or the legal guardians must take measures to ensure the schooling of children during compulsory education. Non-compliance with this provision by the fault of the parent/legal guardian is sanctioned with a fine between 100 and 1000 RON (approximately 20 to 200 euros) or with an equivalent amount of work for the benefit of the community.
Special provisions are foreseen by the LNE for children and pupils unable to attend school due to special education needs or lack of mobility caused by health conditions (Article 25 para 3, and Article 52, LNE). In these cases, education may be provided at home or in the medical care units where they are hospitalized.
Organizations providing education corresponding to other countries system of education
Organizations providing education corresponding to the educational system of other countries may organize and provide education in Romania subject to an agreement between the similar authorities and /or institutions in Romania and those of the county whose education system is to be adopted or subject to being accredited in the corresponding education system, to which it belongs. The procedure is applied by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-university Education (ARACIP), as provided in Section 4 of the Methodology for the institutional evaluation in view of the authorization, accreditation and periodic evaluation of educational institutions approved by the Government Decision no. 993/ 2020. If the concerned organizations do not meet these requirements, they have the obligation to undergo the evaluation and accreditation process applicable in the Romanian education system, under the conditions laid down by law.
arket contracted (Voucher schools)
Not applicable in Romania. Unregistered/Unrecognised schools
The LNE provides that any legal or natural person wishing to provide education must comply with the evaluation process and undergo the procedure for provisional functioning authorization set by Article 20 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 75/2005, approved with amendments by Law no. 87/2006, as subsequently amended and supplemented (henceforth referred to as GEO no. 75/2005), in view of becoming an organization providing education (Art. 22). Subsequently, the education provider holding an authorization for provisional functioning may apply for the accreditation process, subject to the fulfilment of the necessary requirements, as provided by EO no. 75/2005.
The Ministry of Education organizes and leads the national system of education, training and academic research and it exercises its attributions established by law and by other normative acts in its sphere of activity. It also carries out the governmental policies in its fields of activity together with other line ministries, as the case may be (Article 94 para 1, LNE). By the adoption of Government Ordinance no. 100/2021, the nurseries/ crèches were taken over by the national education system and thus, MoE is now responsible for the early childhood education and care of children from birth to the age of 6 years. However, from an administrative point of view, there are nurseries/ crèches that have remained under the responsibility of local authorities.
The MoE is a specialized body of the central public administration, responsible for the development and the implementation of the national policy in the field of pre-university education. It has the right of initiative and execution in the field of financial policy and human resources in the field of education. MoE’s tasks include, among other: the development, application, monitoring and evaluation of national educational policies, the coordination and control of the national education system, the monitoring of the external evaluation activity, the adoption of and compliance with the National Curriculum and the national assessment system, etc. (Article 94 para 2, LNE)The central legislation is the LNE that regulates all types and levels of education.
By 1999, pre-university education had started a process of decentralization. In addition to the National Curriculum elaborated under the coordination of the MoE, the educational units’ Management Board establishes the Curriculum at the school’s decision, following consultation with pupils and parents and in accordance with the resources available (Article 65 para 5, LNE). The Curriculum at the school’s decision represents the educational offer proposed by the school, responding to the pupils’ needs and interests, the specificities of the school and the needs of the local community, consisting in optional (elective) subjects proposed at national, regional and local level, as well as in optional courses proposed by the school. Capital expenditures were devolved to the local budgets (1999), following the devolution of maintenance expenditures to local council budgets, according to the 1995 Law of Education. All educational units are autonomous in regard to their handling of extra-budgetary resources, and according to LNE all private educational institutions have economical and financial autonomy, having as a basis their private property guaranteed by the Constitution. In 2000, in the spirit of decentralization, all school assets became the property of the local authorities. The funding system for pre-university education was modified in favour of per capita financing and of the institutional autonomy of school inspectorates, schools, and high schools, process that is reflected by LNE and which is ongoing.
The MoE is empowered to monitor and control the application and observance of legal regulations in the field of higher education and is empowered to apply, where appropriate, sanctions. Also, the MoE monitors the way in which the universities exercise their university autonomy, assume their general and own mission and exercise their public responsibility (Article 121, LNE).
The state encourages the partnership between private and public entities and this orientation is getting momentum.
3.1 Regulations by distinct levels of education
Early education (0-6 years) is divided into two levels: ante-preschool education (0 - 3 years) and preschool education (3 - 6 years). Ante-preschool education is organised in: nurseries (crèches), kindergartens and day-care centres whether state-owned or private, all following and complying to the same educational content and national standards, respectively. As previously mentioned, nurseries (crèches) are part of the national pre-university education system and offer children aged between 11 months and 3 years integrated education, care and supervision services. Day-care centres are subordinated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (that is why they were only mentioned) and are overseen by town halls and child protection departments. These centres offer care and protection services to children from birth to the age of 18 years. ).
Preschool education is organised in kindergartens (grădiniţă), public (65.1 %, 751 educational units) or private (34,9%, 402 educational units). Kindergartens may be autonomous and have their own legal person status or they may be a section of a school providing other levels of education as well.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level Regulations. A new curriculum for early childhood education was adopted by ministerial order no. 4694 / 02.08.2019 and covers all phases of early childhood education (ante-preschool and preschool).
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Fee-setting: See Multi-level regulations.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies for vulnerable groups: According to Law 248 from 2015, for stimulating participation in pre-school education of children from disadvantaged families, the children concerned receive support from the state consisting of a monthly voucher of 50 RON (approximately 10 euros),on condition that they attend more than 50% of the classes and that the family’s income is below 248 RON (almost 50 euros) per month. In 2020 the law was modified and the concerned families canreceive now 100 RON (almost 20 euros). Despite this legal provision, children from disadvantaged communities are generally not enrolled in private pre-school education units because of the high entry fees levied by the private providers., Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Reporting requirements: See Multi-level regulations.
Inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Child assessments: See Multi-level regulations.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
Registration and approval: See Multi-level regulations.
Licence: See Multi-level regulations.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): Within the procedure for the provisional functioning authorization and accreditation (GD no 993/2020), respectively, the public or private legal persons wishing to be granted the status of educational provider have to submit along with the request for the external evaluation procedure and the internal evaluation report, a standard document containing information regarding the infrastructure, the human and material resources and the advice and authorisations required for the external evaluation process. In addition, the document in question will contain information regarding the compliance with health and security legal requirements in the educational units.
Profit-making: See Multi-level regulations.
Taxes and subsidies: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum and education standards: See Multi-level regulations.
Textbooks and learning materials: According to Article 69 para 4 from LNE, textbooks are provided for free at all compulsory education levels. Textbooks are evaluated and approved by MoE.
Teaching profession: See Multi-level regulations.
Corporal punishment: The Law concerning the protection of and promoting the rights of the children (272/2004) forbids any type of violence towards children and states that all children under the age of 18 have specific rights and that their well-being should be ensured.
Other safety measures and COVID-19: The joint orders of the MoE and the Ministry of Health, as well as the EGOs adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the ones providing for safety measures, were mandatory for all pre-university education units, including the private one. As the educational institutions providing afterschool programmes were not closed during the lockdown, a number of private schools expanded their area of activity in order to include such services.
Fee-setting: See Multi-level regulations.
Admission selection and processes: See Multi-level regulations.
Policies for vulnerable groups: See Multi-level regulations.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
School board: According to Article 96 para 3 from LNE, the Management Board is the governing/management body of the pre-university education unit. For private educational units, the Management Board includes the founders of the respective institutions and a representative of the local council, for the case of educational units providing compulsory education (para 5). The structures and management functions of private and denominational education units, the tasks and the terms of reference are set in their own organization and functioning regulations, in accordance with the provisions of the law (Article 97 para 3, LNE). The directors of private educational units are appointed by the management of the founding legal person, respecting the competence criteria. The act of appointment is brought to the attention of the school inspectorate within which the respective unit carries out its activity (Article 60 para 7).
Reporting requirements: See Multi-level regulations.
School inspection: See Multi-level regulations.
Student assessments: Upon the successful completion of lower secondary education and upper secondary education, respectively, pupils sit the corresponding national exams: the National Evaluation, which is compulsory for all 8th grade graduates and the Baccalaureate Exam (for 12th grade graduates).
Diplomas and degrees: Education providers, with accredited levels of education / specializations / professional qualifications, have the right to organize graduation exams and may issue diplomas and / or other study documents, recognized by the Ministry of Education, to their students conditioned upon the fulfilment of the same requirements as those applicable to students in state education units. Pupils in accredited state and private pre-university education enjoy equality in all the rights conferred by the quality of pupil.
Sanctions: See Multi-level regulations.
Higher Education, according to the NLE, is organized in universities, academies of studies, institutes, colleges of higher education and the like, referred to as higher education institutions or universities. In Romania, there are 46 civil universities, 7 military universities, 34 accredited private universities, and 5 authorized to operate provisionally, organizing accredited or provisionally authorized university study programs.
Registration and approval: State and private higher education institutions shall be established in compliance with the legal provisions regarding accreditation, established according to the GEO no. 75/2005 on quality assurance of education.
Licence: The licensing of education providers and their study programs is considered part of the quality assurance process. According to Article 4 from GEO no. 75/2005, accreditation is that type of quality assurance by which the observance of predetermined standards is certified, for the establishment and functioning of the organizations providing education and of their study programs. Education quality assurance refers to: institutional capacity, resulting from the internal organization of the available infrastructure, educational effectiveness, which consists in the mobilization of resources to obtain the expected learning outcomes, and quality management, which is materialized by strategies and procedures for quality assurance.
Based on the accreditation reports, the Ministry of Education elaborates the normative acts for the establishment of higher education structures. Evaluation reports are provided by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS). Licensing involves two successive steps – first, the provisional functioning authorization, which represents the act of establishment and grants the right to carry out the educational process and to organize, as the case may be, the admission to studies; and secondly, accreditation, which grants the right to issue diplomas, certificates and other study documents recognized by the Ministry of Education and to organize, as the case may be, a graduation exam.
Profit-making: According to Article 114 from the LNE higher education institutions, whether state, private or confessional have legal personality, are non-profit and are apolitical.
Taxes and subsidies: In non-state higher education institutions, education is paid. The amount of the fee is set by the board of directors (Senat) from the universities (Article 101, LNE).
Quality of teaching and learning
In accordance with Article 138 paragraph (1) of the LNE, the organization of the study programs is within the remit of higher education institutions, in compliance with the legislation in force. For each university cycle provided, the university senate approves its own organization and functioning regulation, in accordance with general and specific national and international quality standards.
The accreditation of higher education institutions is carried out in compliance with international standards in the field, as provided by Article 193 para. (2) of LNE: the evaluation in view of the provisional authorization and accreditation, respectively, is carried out by Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) or another agency registered in the EQAR and takes place according to the law and the international standards in the field.
Curriculum and education standards: The curriculum of the university study program is consistent with the qualification profile defined in the National Qualifications Framework. The consistency between the curriculum and the qualification offered by the university study program is a mandatory criterion for evaluating quality assurance. The organization of study programs is under the remit of higher education institutions, in compliance with the legislation. For each organized university cycle, the university senate approves its own regulation of organization and functioning, in accordance with the general and specific national and international quality standards. A university study program operates legally if it is provisionally authorized or accredited and operates under the conditions established by the act of authorization and accreditation, respectively. The organization and development of university study programs that do not function legally is sanctioned with the non-recognition of studies for the beneficiaries, as well as with a fine for the organizers, according to the criminal law, and with the immediate withdrawal of the institution’s accreditation or provisional functioning authorization by the Ministry of Education.
The accreditation of a bachelor's degree program and the establishment of the maximum number of students who can be enrolled in the program and who can be awarded a graduation diploma, as well as for the master domain degree are made by Government decision, following the external evaluation by ARACIS or by another quality assurance agency, in the country or abroad, registered in the European Register for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (EQAR).
In the context of the pandemic situation, there are also measures for organizing the activity within the educational units and institutions in conditions of epidemiological safety for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 disease which are approved by joint order of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Education.
Teaching profession: The number of positions for teaching and auxiliary research staff is established by the university senate, depending on the budget and the specifics of the institution, the faculty, the study program, the department or the doctoral school. (Article 286, LNE) The selection, hiring, periodic evaluation, training, motivation and termination of the contractual employment relations of the staff are the responsibility of the department director, the head of the doctoral school or the dean, according to the provisions of the University Charter (Article 213, LNE). The results and performances of the teaching and research activities of the teaching and research staff in a university are evaluated periodically, at intervals of maximum of 5 years. This evaluation is done in accordance with a methodology approved and applied by the university senate. The evaluation by the students of the teachers' performance is compulsory. The results of the evaluations are public information. (Article 303, LNE).
Fee-setting: According to Article 119 from LNE, the amount of the tuition fee is set by the Management Board of the private HEIs (Article 119 para 2, LNE). In addition, universities have autonomy in this respect and they have the legal obligation to inform all the parties interested on the tuition fees levied, including by posting the relevant information on the site of the university (para 3).
Concerning the enrolment fees that HEIs can levy to candidates to organize and carry out the admission in higher education, the university senates can foresee in their own admission methodologies, the exemption from or the reduction of these fees (Article 142 para 5, LNE).Admission selection and processes: MoE elaborates, annually, a framework methodology regarding the organization of admission in state and non-state higher education institutions in Romania. Each higher education institution elaborates and applies its own regulation for organizing the admission in the study programs offered. This regulation is elaborated according to the methodology provided by the ministry. The admission conditions, including the enrolment figures, must be made public every year, by the university, at least 6 months before the admission contest (Article 142 para 1-3, LNE).
In addition, the Methodology for external evaluation, standards, standards of reference and the list of performance indicators of the ARACIS, approved by Government Decision No.915/2007, establishes performance indicators related to the admission policies for candidates with disabilities and other underrepresented groups.
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Board: The management structures and functions of private and confessional universities, their attributions, the way of constitution, as well as other considerations related to their status are established in accordance with the provisions of the LNE, with the consultative opinion of the founders and with the approval of the university senate (Article 97, LNE). The Board of Directors of private universities is appointed by the founders. The Board of Directors of the university ensures, under the leadership of the rector or another person designated by the University Charter, in the case of private and confessional universities, the operative management of the university and implements the strategic decisions of the university senate. The board of directors shall also approve the budget execution and the annual balance, approve the proposals for the competition of teaching and research positions; approve the financial operations that exceed the ceilings established by the founders, in the private universities;
Reporting requirements: See Licence Regulations.
The external quality assurance system in Romania includes evaluation of institutions and of study programs for all cycles of higher education (as provided by the LNE and GEO no 75/2005). Within each education provider in Romania a Commission for evaluation and quality assurance is established.
Inspection: According to Article 193 para 2 from LNE, the evaluation for the purpose of provisional authorization and accreditation is performed by ARACIS or another agency registered in EQAR and takes place according to the law and international standards in the field. The education provider and its accredited study programs are subject to external evaluation every 5 years. In certain circumstances stipulated by law, education providers who are found to be in breach of quality standards in two consecutive institutional evaluations will be shut down.
Student assessments: Students are full partners in the quality assurance process. In the evaluation teams, the ARACIS also includes representatives of students. The evaluation of the teachers' performance by the students is mandatory. The results of the evaluations are public information.
Diplomas and degrees: The qualifications acquired by the graduates of the higher education study programs are attested by diplomas, certificates and other study documents issued only by accredited higher education institutions, and issued by MoE. The diplomas corresponding to the university study programs are official documents and can only be issued by the accredited institutions, for the programs and forms of studies accredited or provisionally authorized. In the latter case, within the institution issuing the diploma, there must be another accredited specialization in a field related to the authorized specialization.
Sanctions: In Article 227 para4)from the LNE, it is stated that the decisions of private and confessional universities concerning the structures and functions of management, the attributions and duration of mandates, as well as other considerations related to their status may be annulled by court decisions.
The universities that admit to study programs more students than the tuition capacity, violate their public responsibility and are sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the LNE.
HEIs have a series of obligations that they need to comply with based on their public liability, as provided by Article 124 from the LNE, which includes: compliance with the legislation in force, their own charter and the national and European policies in the field of higher education; the application and enforcement of regulations regarding the assurance and evaluation of quality in higher education; compliance with the policies of equity and university ethics, ensuring efficiency with regards to management, the use of resources and expenditure from public funds; ensuring the transparency of decisions and activities and respect for academic staff’s academic freedom and students’ rights and freedoms. Non-compliance with these obligations entails a series of steps to be taken by the MoE, starting with a notification of the university and leading to specific measures being applied, according to the law, in case the university fails to comply with its obligations.
The observance by the HEIs of the obligations provided in art. 124 and other legal obligations related to public liability, as well as the observance by the University Ethics and Management Council of these obligations constitutes a legitimate public interest for any Romanian natural or legal person. Failure to comply with these obligations can be challenged in administrative litigation by any Romanian natural or legal person, according to the law.
3.2 Multi-level regulations
All information provided below concerns pre-university education (private and denominational), from ante -preschool to non-university tertiary education
Propunere reformulare: Any legal person may establish, according to the LNE, units of early childhood education and primary, secondary, high school and post-secondary education. In addition, state recognized denominations have the right to organize denominational education by setting up and administering their own private educational units and institutions, according to the provisions of the law (Article 15, LNE).
The state and non-state educational units (private and denominational) are established by order of the minister of education, based on the accreditation of one level of education, under the conditions provided by art. 31 of the GEO no. 75/2005, approved with amendments by the Law no. 87/2006, as subsequently amended and supplemented (Article 22 para 3, LNE).
Licence:
The body under the coordination of MoE responsible for licensing and quality assurance in pre-university education is the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-University Education (ARACIP).
The process of setting up a pre-university education unit comprises two steps, which are carried out as follows:
a) any legal person of public or private law, interested in providing education, is subject to the evaluation process, and takes the steps provided by the procedure on the provisional functioning authorization, established by art. 30 of the GEO no. 75/2005, in order to become an education provider (that is an organization that provides education). The provisional functioning authorization is granted for each level of education, for each branch, profile and specialization / professional qualification, for each study program, for each language of instruction, each form of education, on each location, as the case may be, by order of the Minister of Education, at the proposal of ARACIP for a maximum of 30 days from the completion of the evaluation.
b) the education provider authorized to operate provisionally, who meets the accreditation conditions, undergoes the procedure provided by art. 31 of the GEO no. 75/2005. Likewise the provisional authorization, the accreditation is granted for each level of education, each education pathway, profile and specialization / professional qualification, for each study program, etc., at the proposal of the ARACIP.
By the accreditation order issued by the minister of education, mentioned above, the private pre-university educational units set up at the initiative of and with the resources of legal persons of private law and the denominational pre-university educational, respectively, become educational providers with a public service mission operating under the private law. The accredited education provider is part of the national education system, with all the rights and obligations conferred by law.
The process of periodic external evaluation of the quality of education in the accredited pre-university education units is performed at least once every 5 years (Article 33, GEO no. 75/2005).
Profit-making: Non-state pre-university education is organized according to the non-profit principle in pre-university education units, at all levels and forms, according to the legislation – Article 60, LNE.
Taxes and subsidies: In private pre-university education, tuition fees are set by the Management Board of each educational institution or unit, in accordance with the law (Article 101, para 3, LNE).Quality of teaching and learning
Quality of teaching and learning
Curriculum or education standards: The National Curriculum is implemented in the pre-university education, being developed under the coordination of and approved by the Ministry of Education (Article 64, LNE). The National Curriculum represents the comprehensive set of study plans and school syllabi of the pre-university education. In the private and denominational education the study plans and school syllabi used are those of the National Curriculum approved by the MoE or study plans and school syllabus similar or alternative to the state education, approved by the MoE (Article 65 para 8, LNE). With regard to educational alternatives, the study plans and school syllabi are drafted by the representatives of the respective educational alternatives and are approved by the MoE. (Article 65 para 7, LNE). . In the primary and secondary education, the curriculum includes core disciplines (the core curriculum), studied by all pupils attending a given education level, educational pathway, profile and specialization, as the case may be, and optional/ elective disciplines (curriculum at the school’s decision – detailed in section 3 Governance and regulations).
In parallel, according to Order no. 5571/2011 regarding the approval of the Regulation on the organization and functioning of alternative pre-university education the following educational alternatives are recognized in the pre-university education: Freinet, Montessori, curative pedagogy, Jena Plan, Step by Step, Waldorf. Teaching profession: The salary and extra-salary incomes of the headteacher (principal) of the school and deputy headteachers, as well as the salary of the teaching staff from the private educational units, are established by negotiation between the management of the legal entity ensuring the financing and the person in question, with the approval of the school’s management board (Article 92, LNE). Teachers should comply with the same testing and accreditation as in state schools.
Fee-setting: In NS education the amount of the tuition fees is set by the management board of each education institution or unit (Article 101 para 3, LNE).
Admission selection and processes: According to Ordinance no. 48/2018, the provisional functioning authorization gives the right to NS schools to organize admission in their educational units.
Policies for vulnerable groups: The MoE implements a series of national programmes that also target pre-schoolers and pupils in private educational units, such as Programul pentru școli al României (Romania's Programme for Schools), addressed to pre-schoolers and primary and lower secondary school students consisting in fresh fruits and vegetables, milk /dairy and bakery products offered daily; Bani de liceu (High school money), a national social protection program that supports pupils from economically disadvantaged families to continue / complete their upper secondary education by means of a financial support; Bursa profesională (VET Scholarship), a national social programme targeting all students enrolled in VET, consisting of a monthly financial incentive; Euro 200, program supporting pupils with limited financial means to purchase a personal computer by means of a financial support.Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Quality assurance, monitoring and accountability
Reporting requirements: See Licence section.
The quality assurance in education is carried out based on the provisions of GEO no. 75/2005, which apply to all education providers operating in Romania. Quality assurance is ensured through a series of process which include the effective planning and achievement of expected learning outcomes, the monitoring of results and the internal and external evaluation. The methodology on the quality assurance comprises criteria, standards and reference standards, performance indicators and qualifications and covers the following areas: the institutional capacity, the educational effectiveness and quality management.
ARACIP is responsible for the external evaluation in view of provisional authorization, accreditation and the maintenance of accreditation in the state pre-university education. The external evaluation covers the evaluation of the institutional capacity of the educational provider, its educational efficiency, the internal quality management, the quality of the study programmes offered etc.
For the internal quality assurance, each educational provider in Romania sets up at institutional level a Commission for quality evaluation and assurance. The Commission coordinates the application of quality assurance procedures and activities internally approved, drafts an internal evaluation report on the quality of education and make proposals to improve the quality of education.
The private and denominational pre-university education units must comply with the same criteria, standards and performance indicators as state education units (Art. 60, LNE).
As of the 2021-2022 school year, new standards for the provisional functioning authorization and accreditation and periodic external evaluation standards in the pre-university education were approved by the GD no 994/2020, which apply to the entire pre-university education system (public, private and denominational).Inspection: Quality control of education in pre-university education units entails operational activities and techniques, systematically applied by a designated inspection authority to verify compliance with pre-established standards.
School inspections aim at monitoring the application of legislation and the quality of teaching-learning activities and the compliance with national standards / performance indicators and are delivered by the county schools inspectorate and Bucharest Municipality School Inspectorate (Article 95 para 1, LNE).
Sanctions: In order to ensure the quality of education, at the proposal of the local public administration authorities or on their own initiative, the school inspectorates may request the MoE to lift the accreditation/authorization of an educational unit with legal personality or the accreditation/authorization of one of its structures, according to the law. . If ARACIP withdraws the accreditation/authorization for operation of an educational unit for failure of fulfilment of the legal conditions, the educational unit ceases its activity. The local public administration authorities allocate the students to other school units, respecting the children's interest and ensuring the necessary logistics (Article 61, LNE).
3.3 Supplementary private tutoring
Private tutoring is a widespread phenomenon in Romania, as in most post-Soviet countries. As the recent study cited indicates, 1 in 3 children from secondary level education is accessing this kind of services, with higher demand before national exams (national assessment at the end of 8th grade and Baccalaureat, at the end of 12th grade). Most children that access these services come from urban families, with higher income. The academic subjects that are most demanded are mathematics and literacy but also foreign languages. Classes take place mostly at the teacher’s house, in groups that comprise 2 or 3 students. Some companies offer this kind of classes, but the service is mostly provided by teachers in state schools.
Private tutoring is not forbidden by law but there are commercial regulations: teachers have to be registered as PFA (Persoana fizica autorizata: Authorized Natural Person or a Sole Trader) or as an independent company. In recent years the NAFA (National Authority for Fiscal Administration) has started informative campaigns and check-ups to stimulate registering as a private tutoring provider.
Financial operation and quality
Teachers have to pay all the taxes and social contributions mandatory for PFAs: as a general rule, 45% of the profit made goes for taxes for independent activities, but if they are employed and already pay the social contributions (social insurance/pension: 25% and health insurance: 10%), there remains only 10% annual profit tax.
No regulations are governing the teaching workforce. According to Art. 5 from the MoE code of ethics from 2018, teachers should not provide private tutoring to children that are enrolled in the schools where they are teaching.
This profile was drafted by the Network of Education Policy Centers (NEPC). It was reviewed by Cătălin Pâslaru, General Inspector, General Directorate for Preuniversity Education; Antonela Toma Marioara Grebenișan, Adviser, General Directorate for Higher Education, Dana Stroie, Deputy Director, National Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development and Alexandra Șandru, Adviser General Directorate for International Relations and European Affairs.
