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Education is a very important aspect in Romanians’ life. Since time immemorial, in the smallest villages in the area they used to have a particular respect for the intellectuals of the village who used to be the teacher, the mayor and the priest. Consequently, nowadays it is more important then ever to be well educated. The education system in Romania seems in general quite difficult, both for teachers and for students.

In Romania, children start going to nursery school at the age of three. They can continue with nursery till they are six or seven, depending on the level of their ability. School commences at eight and is over by midday. The children learn to draw and colour, get acquainted with the alphabets and are told many stories through which they are supposed to learn. It is the duty of the teachers to ensure that the students actually imbibe what they are taught.

Apart from all these things, the children are taught how to sing and dance, and how to be useful with their hands. They learn crafts like making paper boats and snowflakes and other things related to their immediate environment. Depending upon the profile of the school, they are also taught a foreign language like English, French or German apart from their mother tongue.

At the end of the nursery school stage children are evaluated by the schools that they will attend. Primary education therefore starts at the age of six or seven and it finishes at the age of 10 or 11. In this case, as well, classes start at 8 a.m. and they finish at noon too. Children do not have lunch at school but they can have a sandwich from home and as snack, they get a small carton of milk and a roll.

The curriculum in primary school is considerably more varied. Students are taught the Romanian language, Mathematics, Biology, Geography, History, Religion, Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, as also a foreign language, say English. The detailed syllabus is designed to make the children inquisitive and to make them aware of a lot of facts and information. Upon evaluation, the children are awarded grades like “Very Good”, “Good”, “Satisfactory”, and “Not Satisfactory”.

To continue, during lower secondary school, which lasts for four years too, students learn new subjects like Physics, Chemistry, another foreign language, which is French , German or Spanish. During the 7th grade, they have to pass two national tests in Romanian and Mathematics at the end of each term. By the way, the academic year has two terms and children are on holiday for Christmas, between the two terms, for Easter and the summer holiday is from June 15 to September 15.

At the end of the 8th grade, the last and the most vital in lower secondary school, the students have to pass a final examination in Romanian, Mathematics and History or Geography. Their results in this test are graded in a scale of 1 to 10. Depending on how they fare in this test, they can go on to high school.

Besides, they have the possibility to fill in a form containing lists of high schools and choose one or more, but it depends on their average mark at the test if they are distributed, or not at the high school they want.

Some students, who could not qualify for the high school, are offered the opportunity of joining a vocational school. Here they can pick up different skills or crafts that would give them a vocational qualification on finishing the course chosen.

Finally, after four high school years, they have to pass the baccalaureate exam and then they can enter the university they want. In the education system in Romania, it is compulsory to attend school until the age of 16.