Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0301/03010.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 35KB | 607 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03010}
$Pretitle{360}
$Title{Romania
Education}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{David Aurel}
$Affiliation{News Agency Rompres}
$Subject{church
romanian
christian
first
education
orthodox
dacia
century
religious
time}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Romania
Book:        Romania December 1989-December 1990
Author:      David Aurel
Affiliation: News Agency Rompres
Date:        1990

Education

     "Studii asupra instructiunei publice in unele din statele cele mai
inaintate ale Europei" Studies of Public Instruction in Some of the Most
Advanced States in Europe is the title of a book which has not been put out by
the Institute of Education Sciences recently set up in Bucharest. Although it
should concern itself with such matters.

     The author of the aforementioned book is scholar Gheorghe Costa-Foru and
he submitted it to public attention in 1860. As a matter of fact, the Law of
Instruction, adopted four years later, and the subsequent regulations included
the premises of Costa-Foru's work. An education policy resulted based on the
most advanced pedagogical ideas of the epoch.

     Nowhere, nothing can come out of nothing. It is anxiom. And it is all the
more true when it comes to school. Well, towards the end of the last century,
Romanian high school education was well appreciated in the world of learning.
The structure of that type of education had been worked out with the
contribution of Spiru Haret, minister of instruction at that time. And also a
renowned mathematician. That could explain the solid training of the pupils
learning exact sciences. And since any man of science is also a man of
letters, Haret gave humanities the place they deserved. Hence, the classes
where the stress fell on the mother tongue, modern, widely spoken languages,
classic languages, history, philosophy.

     The reform of almost one century ago, initiated by Spiru Haret, also
stipulated a high-school network complementary to that of theoretical high
schools i.e. industrial high schools and vocational schools, the curriculum of
which included fundamental elements of general and specialty knowledge. Stress
was laid first of all on perfectly learning a trade.

     The pre-university education network was widely diversified: state-run,
private, confessional schools, classes and schools with tuition in the
languages of the ethnic minorities. Everything met the principle of observance
of civic rights and freedoms, enshrined in the 1923 Constitution of the
country.

     In general lines, that structure was preserved until after the second
world war when the communist regime demolished traditions.

     The 1948 reform pursued the structuring of education after the Soviet
model. The 1968 Law, with the subsequent amendments, more particularly those
after 1980, only simulated a departure from the eastern model - actually
laying stress on totalitarian characteristics. Although over the interwar
period illiteracy was liquidated, general and compulsory education was
expanded, education of all grades became free of charge, the level of general
knowledge rose, the negative elements were the unprecedented ideologization of
learning activities, gradual renunciation of all valuable experiments (the
special classes of mathematics, physics, chemistry high schools with tuition
in foreign languages, teaching of modern languages starting with the first or
second form). On the other hand, the expences for education dropped
dramatically over the past ten years accounting for less than seven per cent
of government's expense, Romania placing last in Europe from this point of
view.

     Nevertheless, to the credit of the Romanian education, of those serving
it, traditions were not forgotten. Certainly, it was not a mass phenomenon,
whole generations were compelled to adapt themselves to Procust's bed, which
was too small and which has always been disavowed..

     Now, before a new reform of education is to be implemented, the relevant
ministry decided to intervene is to be made to structures thoroughly verified
before 1948. Thus, starting this fall many pre-university education
institutions bear the "theoretical high school" sign.

     As for the industrial high-schools their excessively large number is to
be reduced. Those that will continue to operate and the vocational schools of
the same kind will form groups using the same material base. And since the
industrial high-schools will have to provide general knowledge like the
theoretical ones the former will benefit from an additional year.

     This is not the only novelty in the field of high-school education. Maybe
the most substantial change is a genuinely reasonable specialization. Modern
specialties, that are to meet the requirements of the Romanian economy, have
priority. Besides the several existing high schools of informatics
informatics sections have been set up in numerous other high-schools - either
theoretical or industrial.

     Worth mentioning is an altogether rather peculiar type of high school,
that of technical-scientific creativity and inventics. It started operating in
Ploiesti and its pupils will get a basic scientific training (inventics,
technical-scientific creation, physics - theory and practical activities,
mathematics and informatics, chemistry, biology, economics, history of
science, rethorics, technical drawing), but also humanistic and social
knowledge (Romanian language and literature, foreign languages, history,
sociology, democracy, philosophy, logic a.o.). The high-school is to be
equipped with most up-to-date facilities manufactured in Romania or other
countries (Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands). And
one point: the new high school is the outcome of a private initiative. Such
initiatives have also materialized in other towns as well and cover various
grades - from preschool education (kindergartens with tuition in foreign
languages) to higher learning (the Ecologic University - the first in the
world, U'90, "Athenaeum", "Hyperion").

     Inevitably, many aspects approached in connection with general education
apply to higher learning as well. The measures taken devolve from this general
state of affairs, but also from specific conditions.

     First of all the higher learning network had to be extended with new
faculties, departments and specialties. One of the reasons for such a process
was the inadmissibly small number of students out of 100,000 inhabitants
which, over 1980-1985 dropped from 868 to 647, placing Romania last but one in
Europe. Another reason: the faulty structure of education the technical and
polytechnical share of which (64-66 per cent) was exaggerate.

     Consequently, universities have been created in Sibiu, Constanta,
Suceava, Oradea, Bacau, higher learning institutes in Pitesti, Arad,
Hunedoara, Braila. As a matter of fact, all these university centres have not
emerged overnight, the aforementioned towns boasting, more than twenty years
ago, higher learning institues, pedagogical in particular.

     While last year there were 101 faculties with 274 departments,
starting this fall there are almost 200 faculties with over 600 departments.

     The range of specialties has also been widened - from 99 to over 180. New
specialties have been included imposed by market economic modernization:
industrial robotics, management, marketing, production system engineering,
economic informatics, international economic relations, environmental
protection, ecology a.o. On the other hand, specialties either marginalized
or dissolved in the past have been reestablished: sociology, psychology
pedagogy, journalistics, bibliology and printing science.

     The three-year technical engineer departments have been given up being
turned into four-year exploitation engineer departments.

     State-subsidised education is parallelled by private learning. With
different specialties but also with similar ones. Here is the so much longed
for competition, which should lead to higher competence.

CONSTANTIN L