2021

The Ministry of Education (ME) continues the reforms in the field of education and training, in order to ensure an education adapted to the labour market requirements and focused on personal and social development.

The context of the COVID-19 epidemics

From the perspective of mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ME has applied several concrete steps in all four of its sector strategies. These measures will be reflected in the 2020 Integrated Report on the four strategies, which is under preparation phase. An implementation report for the entire period 2015-2020 covered by the four sectoral strategies will be available by late 2021.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to help closing the achievement gaps and to support the design of teaching activities in the school year 2020-2021, implementing regulation on school subjects were developed and made available online (See the online platform). 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, GEO No 144/2020 put in place a legal framework to equip students with mobile IT equipment and medical protection items in order to ensuring the minimum hygienic-sanitary conditions in public pre-university educational establishments lacking connection to the water & sewerage network.

Also, in this pandemic context, the School at Home national programme is implemented, by ministerial order (for which the Order of the Education and Research Minister no. 4738/2020) approved the necessary number of electronic devices with an internet connection, as well as the criteria for the distribution of the devices purchased in the programme to primary, lower secondary and upper secondary students in full-time education (i.e. the preparatory grade, grades 1-12, the vocational school). Thus, in December 2020, the delivery of 250,000 tablets, 10,000 webcams and 22,000 laptops allocated was completed.

Government Decision no. 756/2020 has approved the National Programme Safe Education which provides for allocations from the Budget Reserve Fund at the Government’s disposal. By 1 April 2021, through this programme, 39,149 tablets, 4,698 webcams and 3,109 computers (desktop, all-in-one, laptop) were purchased.  

Curricular policies

Efforts are made to modernise the school curriculum for VET and TVET routes. 

In the school year 2020-2021, continuing the application of the new curriculum for vocational education and for technological high-school education. Their application began gradually, in the 2016/2017 school year, with grade 9. 

Consolidation of the professional and technical education, and especially the on-the-job-training component

In order to develop TVET, starting with December 2020, the implementation of the project ReCONNECT – adaptation to change – an integrated anticipation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the labour market and education, whose objective is to match the labour market demand and supply provided by public education and employment services, by putting forward new tools and three mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating public policies on vocational training, monitoring the labour market insertion of pre-university graduates, and anticipating skills needs on the labour market.

In 2021, within this project, for the TVET component, two activities are to be carried out:

• (1) analysis of available statistical data for the adaptation thereof to the IT system to be developed, and

• (2) development of first versions of the three above-mentioned mechanisms. 

Regarding the projects financed by the Human Capital Operational Programme (HCOP), under the call Internship for pupils and students in the agri-food, industry and services sector, and which support on-the-job training programmes for students and pupils in lower-secondary, secondary (high school) and post-secondary education, including foreman schools, 60 projects were implemented, another 28 being under implementation on end of March 2021. 

Under the call HCOP/711 - Internships for students, ITI Danube Delta, 12 project applications were submitted and evaluated, for nine of them the financing contracts being already signed.  By the call HCOP/633/6/14 - Internships for students for under developed regions, 155 projects are being implemented.

ME continues to provide scholarships, including vocational scholarships for students enrolled in dual education system, under the umbrella of its national social programme. In the school year 2020-2021, 111,786 students benefit from the Professional Scholarship programme (the current monthly amount is 200 lei/ student), of which 17,749 students are enrolled in dual education. 

Developing an open and accessible lifelong learning framework

The financing contract was signed for the Edu-C-Ad project: New tools for the national strategy on lifelong adult education in Romania; it is about a project implemented by ME in partnership with the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA) and funded by Human Capital Operational Programme. Through this project, Romania will participate for the first time in a programme for the international assessment of adult skills. The started in December 2020 and it will run for a period of 3 years. For 2021, the systemic review and evaluation of the regulatory framework for adult continuing education and the conduct of a pilot study on 2,000 respondents to calibrate the research tools and the sampling framework in accordance with international standards are foreseen. The study will use selected, translated and adapted literacy, numeracy, problem solving and digital literacy tests while observing the international indicators and standards. 

Regarding the setting up Community Lifelong Learning Centres (CLLC), in order to centralize the information on the operational CLLCs in the counties, in December 2020 ME requested the School County Inspectorates (ISJs) to report on the state of play regarding the organisational, establishment and the operational aspects concerning the CLLCs for each territorial and administrative division of each county. The attributions of the CLLC will be modified by a joint ME & MMPS MO which will amend the joint MEN & MMJS MO No 3894/2019 on the approval of specific instructions for the accreditation and regular evaluation of CLLC to provide a greater flexibility in developing a wider portfolio of training services in order to support citizens, including disadvantaged people, to acquire basic and advanced skills. Other initiatives to promote lifelong learning at the community level are also considered by promoting local educational hubs, including in schools, public libraries, cultural centres, etc., to be developed in partnership with local authorities, civil society and business environment.  

2020

The Ministry of Education and Research continues the reforms in the field of education and training, in order to ensure an education adapted to the labour market requirements and focused on personal and social development.

The Ministry of Education and Research published on the website the guides for organising and carrying out the activities in school education establishments in the 2020/2021 school year, in the context of the COVID-19 epidemics.

After the opening of the 2020/2021 school year on 14 September 2020, the Ministry of Education and Research initiated the procedure for monitoring the dynamics of the scenarios related to the functioning of the school education establishments, at national level, which is influenced by the evolution of the epidemiologic situation in each county.

Curricular policies

In the school year 2020-2021, continuing the application of the new curriculum for vocational education and for technological high-school education. Their application began gradually, in the 2016/2017 school year, with grade 9. 

Implementing the non-competitive project Systemic development of vocational and technical education in accordance with the socioeconomic development needs at national, regional and local levels, which will update and/or develop:

• (i) vocational qualifications;

• (ii) vocational training standards so as to increase the relevance of training to the labour market;

• (iii) the curriculum and the curricular aids which are necessary to initial vocational training.

The project has been completed and submitted for analysis to the Ministry of European Funds.

Consolidation of the professional and technical education, and especially the on-the-job-training component

The vocational education and training programmes are adapted to the needs for competences and the trends in the labour market, so as to respond to the priorities of national economic and social development.

Phases for school year 2020-2021:    

• Implementation of the Strategy for Romanian Vocational Education and Training 2015-2020, with the completion of: 2020 Action Plan.

• Implementation of the Master Plan 2015 – 2020 with a view to putting into practice the apprenticeship programmes in the initial vocational training system (In the project DALIVET funded by Erasmus+ and implemented by the National Centre for the Development of Vocational and Technical Education).  

• Developing the National Strategy for the Development of Vocational Training for Students in Dual Education 2021-2025. For the development of this Strategy an analysis will be conducted on the state of dual education over the last 3 school years, as from the 2017/2018 school year, in order to identify issues, models for good practices and development opportunities.    

• Implementation of the projects under the call for proposals Traineeships for school students and university students, which provides support for on-the-job training programmes for university students and students in lower secondary education, high-school education and post-secondary education, including the schools of foremen. The projects are intended to achieve the following (88 projects have been contracted for implementation in the period 2018-2020):

  • to develop partnerships/conventions between organisers (school education establishments/higher education institutions) and training partners (potential employers of future graduates, especially with entities from economic sectors with a competitive potential and in intelligent specialisation fields);

  • to organise and carry out on-the-job training programmes (internship/traineeship, practical training, technological laboratory etc.), including practice enterprise activities (in compliance with the methodologies applicable to each type of activity);

  • to provide career counselling and guidance services for school students and university students, focused on the acquisition of competences which meet the needs of the labour market;

  • to pilot innovative solutions for facilitating practical training, innovative counselling, guidance, and competence assessment instruments, including through ICT;

  • to organise traineeships in the EU Member States. (Duration for the implementation of the projects: 9 - 24 months).

• The project The key to the future is made by you!, funded by Norwegian grants 2014-2021, has been contracted and implemented.

  • Objectives:

    • reducing the risk of social exclusion for high-school and lower secondary students;

    • promoting and supporting the integration of students in dual education;

    • providing long-term support to communities through information, training and counselling for 470 teachers, educational and social specialists, parents.

2019

The Ministry of National Education continues the reforms in the field of education and training, in order to ensure an education adapted to the labour market requirements and focused on personal and social development.

Introduction of the dual professional education

For 2019, the newly established National Authority for Dual Vocational Training in Romania (ANFPISDR), planned the following actions:

• conclusion of a partnership agreement with the National Centre for Development of Vocational and Technical Education (CNDIPT)

• conclusion of a partnership agreement with the National Qualification Authority (ANC) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR) for the achievement and implementation of Level 3 qualification level - Mechatronics

• promotion of dual VET system offer for the 2019-2020 school year

• development of an EEA grants (Norwegian Funds) funded project, which aims to improve the transition from the 8th Grade to high school/vocational school, and to reduce the school absenteeism in dual VET students (project application’ target group: 900 students enrolled in the 2019-2020 school year)

• drafting some legislative proposals to extend the dual VET to 3.5 years of study

• elaboration of proposals to complement the Law 34/1992 on sponsorship, so as to ensure an efficient use and the possibility of extending the material base associated with dual VET educational establishments

• elaboration of the draft Strategy for the development of dual VET education in Romania for the period 2019-2023

• development of study on the dual VET education impact on the national economy, from the perspective of training and assuring qualified human resources through dual VET education system.

Consolidation of the professional and technical education

Part of the Master Plan for the implementation of dual/apprenticeship programs in the initial VET in Romania for the period 2015-2020 will be implemented through the project Systemic Development of TVET in accordance with the socio-economic development needs at national, regional and local levels. 

It was launched the final form of the Applicant's Guide for the non-competitive project Systemic Development of Vocational and Technical Education and Training in accordance with the socio-economic development needs at national, regional and local level, in order to implement measures aimed at improving the relevance and increasing quality of TVET, in line with development needs at national, regional and local level.

A series of measures will be funded under the Vocational Education and Training Strategy of Romania for the period 2016 - 2020, aiming at the following specific objectives:

• increasing participation in initial vocational training programmes, especially for students/apprentices from disadvantaged communities with focus on the rural area and Roma minority

• increasing the participation in the dual education programmes of students and apprentices enrolled in secondary and tertiary non-university education, with focus on the economic sectors with competitive potential identified according to the Romania’s National Strategy for Competitiveness and intelligent specialization fields according to National Strategy on Research, Development and Innovation

• improving the skills of teaching staff, trainers, professional skills assessors, and of the companies’ staff in charge with training in the workplace

• increasing the number of offers provided by VET tailored to the needs and development trends of the labour market.