Past Romanian Education Reforms Only ‘Stitched’ System – President

Basescu said he is concerned that there are some who question the timeliness of the Romanian education system’s structural reform, arguing that a period of crisis is not a proper moment.

„I believe now is exactly the time to do what it takes to improve the system’s performance, as education reform is not something to keep Romania in the crisis – on the contrary. A reform of the education system can help push Romania out of the crisis and is definitely the way to prevent future economic crises,” the president retorted.

Basescu said the education system has only seen patchwork these past 20 years (since the fall of the Communist regime), resulting in poorly prepared young people who stand little chance of coping with the competition on the global labor market. The president pointed to international test results and the fact that not one Romanian university is in the world’s top 500 as proof of the system’s poor state.