Solution in education: European funds to prevent university dropout

The Minister of Education, Daniel David, announced, at the General Assembly of the Romanian Students' Union (USR), that he is holding discussions with the Minister of European Funds, Dragoş Pîslaru, to direct financial resources to the University Dropout Prevention Program. "This is a short-term plan and I hope that in a few weeks we will have a solution and a message in this regard", said David.

• Financing from the state budget, in the medium term

In addition to the European support, the minister specified that the scholarship project will also be included in the budget for next year. "The scholarship fund is larger than in the 2022-2023 academic year. (...) Universities are free to supplement this fund and offer scholarships for 10 or 12 months, depending on the possibilities", emphasized Daniel David. The 69th General Assembly of the Romanian Students' Union was hosted for the first time by the University of Oradea. The opening of the proceedings was attended online by the Minister of Education, Rector Constantin Bungău, USR President Cristian-Alexandru Ghiurcă and US Oradea President Raluca Lezeu. Rector Bungău encouraged students to get involved in international programs, such as Erasmus, and to focus on digitalization, internationalization and sustainability: "You are the leaders of tomorrow (...) those who get involved in such activities will certainly have much greater success in life".

• Discontents and protests announced

Student representatives raised the issue of the scholarship fund, which has decreased by 40% at the national level. "We realize that we cannot solve things only through diplomatic means and we must also have protest actions", said Cristian-Alexandru Ghiurcă. The protests began in July and will continue with the start of the academic year, in solidarity with students who do not benefit from scholarships. In addition to the issue of scholarships, the delegates also discussed strategic directions until the end of the year, as well as the preparation of the Unifest Festival, one of the largest student events in the country.