According to the provisions of the Law of National Education (Law 1/2011), Art.8, a minimum of 6% of the GDP of the year in question is allotted annually from the state budget and from the budgets of the local authorities in order to finance national education. The educational institutions may also get and use their own income.
The state provides basic finance for all preschool children and pupils attending compulsory state, private and accredited religious education. The state also provides basic finance for the accredited vocational and high school state, private and religious education, as well as for state post high-school education. They shall be financed on the basis and within the limits of the standard cost per pupil or per preschool child, according to the methodology set by the Ministry of National Education.
Public education is free of charge, in compliance with the law. For certain educational activities, levels and curricula, taxes may be charged.
The Ministry of National Education, through its specialized body, sets the annual standard cost per pupil or preschooler, on which the fundamental financing is based. All pupils and preschoolers attending public preuniversity education, as well as private compulsory pupils and preschoolers attending general compulsory education, vocational, high-school, private and religious education, accredited and regularly assessed educational institutions benefit from the amount in question, in compliance with the applicable law.
Pre-university education shall be basically financed according to the financial resource follows the pupil principle, based on which the budgetary allowance due for a pupil or preschooler is transferred to the educational institution attended by the pupil or preschooler in question.
According to the provisions of the Law of National Education (Law 1/2011), the public high education system is free, for the amount of students approved by the government, and charged, in the limits of the Law.
The education in the higher education system is free of charge, in the limit of the positions allocated each year by the Government, the rest of the positions being available by paying the tuition. The amount of the respective tax is set by the University Senate, in compliance with the law. The higher education institutions have autonomy in deciding the quantum of the tuition taxes have the obligation to inform all the interested people on this subject, including on the university site.
Education may be financed directly by business entities, as well as by other natural or legal persons, in compliance with the law. Education may be supported through scholarships, study loans, taxes, donations, sponsorships, own sources, and other legal sources.
The State provides the free access to career counselling and orientation services to all the pupils, students and persons searching for a job.
Since 2013, the State supports the right to life-long learning by granting in lei the equivalent of 500 EURO, calculated at the currency exchange rate of lei/euro communicated by the National Bank of Romania and valid in the payment date, to each child who is a Romanian citizen, at the moment of his/her birth. The sum is granted in the purpose of education for the benefit of the titular, from the State budget through the budget of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection. The sum is deposited into a deposit account, called hereinafter account for permanent education, opened at the State Treasury in the name of the child, on the basis of the birth certificate, by the natural parents of the child, their proxy or the legal representative of the child. The parents of the child, taxpayers, can direct into the account for permanent education a percentage of up to 2% from the value of the annual income tax, within the conditions of the law, and can deposit sums in this account. The account holder (“titular”) is the only person who can request sums from the permanent education account, starting with the age of 16 and with the expressly stated agreement, as appropriate, of the parents, legal guardian or legal representative. The State Treasury issues vouchers equivalent to the value of the requested sums. The methodology for the certification of the fact that the sums have been spent for the permanent education is elaborated by the Ministry of National Education.