Romania education system faces rural-urban gaps and dropout challenges

A new report titled ‘Education in Romania – a system that loses children along the way’ highlights significant disparities within the Romanian educational system. Data from the Ministry of Education, Eurostat, and the OECD reveal a widening gap between rural and urban areas. In 2024, only 76.5% of Romanian children aged three to school age participated in preschool education, the lowest rate in the EU compared to a 95% average.

The divide is most pronounced in middle school, where the gross enrollment rate is 96% in urban areas but only 65.6% in rural regions. Furthermore, the graduation rate for eighth grade reaches 92.3% in cities, while only 61.5% of rural students graduate. In the 2023/2024 school year, primary and middle school dropout rates accounted for approximately 15,900 students.

In contrast to these structural challenges, Romanian students show strength in multilingualism. Data indicates that many Romanian youths learn two or more foreign languages, aligning with broader European trends where 87% of young people aged 18-24 can hold a conversation in a foreign language. English remains the most studied language across the EU, with 97.6% of lower secondary students enrolled in English courses.