Dialogue between students and the Ministry of Education on the fiscal-budgetary crisis

The Minister of Education, Daniel David, participated in Timişoara, at the Forum of the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania (ANOSR), where he discussed directly with students about the effects of the fiscal-budgetary crisis on the university environment.

• Measures to balance the budget

According to the Ministry of Education, the Government's decisions aim to maintain funds for salaries and scholarships until the end of 2025, with the aim of creating the premises for reforms and development in the field of education starting in 2026.

"Nobody wanted them and they would not have been taken in this form under normal conditions. The fact that they are temporary shows the openness of the Romanian Government to return to them when fiscal-budgetary conditions allow this," said Minister Daniel David.

• Mitigating the effects on students

Among the solutions identified to reduce the impact on the academic environment are: the autonomy of universities to make hiring from their own funds, collaboration with local authorities and making the scholarship granting period more flexible. The minister also specified that the budget allocated to scholarships for the next academic year will be higher than that of 2022-2023, despite the current financial constraints.

• Reforms and post-crisis perspectives

David expressed his willingness to discuss the reforms proposed in the QX Report for higher education and research, presenting them as an opportunity for reconstruction after the crisis period. "In order to prepare for the post-crisis moment and bring an optimistic commitment to the field, we will analyze these reform directions together,” the minister said.

• Students maintain their critical position

ANOSR representatives emphasized that, in the absence of a concrete change in the measures adopted by the Government, the protest movements will continue. At the same time, they welcomed the minister's willingness to receive proposals regarding the efficient implementation of the regulations in the Government Program and the Fiscal-Budgetary Law (L141/2025).