Romanian Senate Committee votes to abolish supplementary high school admission exams

The Romanian Senate's Education Committee has voted unanimously to abolish the provision allowing high schools to organize their own supplementary admission exams. Under current legislation, schools could have held separate entrance contests for up to 50% of available ninth-grade spots following the National Evaluation. The proposed change would ensure that admission to high school is based solely on the results of the National Evaluation.

The decision received broad support from political parties, former education ministers, student councils, and parent associations. While the committee has reached a consensus, the proposal must still pass a final vote in the Senate plenary to become law. If adopted, the Ministry of Education will be required to issue new methodologies for high school admission.

In a separate educational development, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has approved a reform titled ‘Restart in Education’. This plan involves replacing regional and municipal education directorates with Territorial Education Agencies (ATE) under the Ministry of Education and Research. These agencies will manage school networks, oversee director selection, and monitor educational quality to reduce territorial disparities in education access.