Students accuse the Government of lack of dialogue on the Education budget

Representatives of the Romanian Students' Union have expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the Government is managing the process of developing the Education budget for 2026, accusing it of refusing to dialogue with relevant actors in the education system. The student organization requests an audience with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, in order to present its point of view on the budget allocations for the Ministry of Education and Research. The students claim that the negotiations on the Education budget were conducted without consulting the representative organizations of students, pupils and teachers, despite repeated requests in recent weeks. "The Romanian Students' Union expresses its disappointment regarding the negotiations for the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education and Research for 2026, as well as the lack of consultation with representative organizations in the educational field. We believe that, despite all the press releases in recent days, the Government refuses dialogue and ignores the demands of all relevant actors in the educational system," the organization said in a statement.

According to the students, the negotiations held at the Victoria Palace raise "big question marks" regarding the level of the budget that will be allocated to Education next year.

• Fears related to austerity and budget cuts

An element that amplifies the students' concerns is the participation of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in the negotiations both as Prime Minister and as interim minister. "The fact that Ilie Bolojan participated in these negotiations both as Prime Minister and as interim Minister indicates the possibility of significant cuts or the introduction of new austerity measures, which no possible candidate for the position of Minister wants to assume,” warns the Students' Union. In this context, the organization states that the lack of a real dialogue increases uncertainty regarding the financing of the education system in 2026.

• Students come up with 15 concrete proposals for the Education budget

In parallel with the criticisms brought to the Government, the Students' Union of Romania sent the Prime Minister a set of 15 proposals aimed at mitigating the effects of the austerity measures and ensuring predictable financing of Education.

Among the main requests are: updating the standard cost per student according to the inflation rate communicated by the National Institute of Statistics, within the process of substantiating the basic financing for 2026; maintaining the scholarship fund at least at the level of May 2025, in parallel with the allocation of 60 million euros by the European Commission for social scholarships; introducing a mechanism for annual updating of the social scholarship according to inflation; consulting representative student federations in establishing the minimum mandatory amount of the social scholarship; implementing a mechanism for verifying the way in which scholarships and other forms of support are granted in all accredited educational institutions.

An important chapter of the proposals concerns student transport and mobility. The Union calls for: reintroducing free local public transport; free rail transport on the route between the place of residence and that of the faculty; granting 24 free trips annually on any internal railway route; simplifying the settlement mechanisms between transport operators and the Ministry of Education. Students also demand the expansion of the categories eligible for the "Carol I" grants, by including all participants in the national and international stages of the school Olympiads recognized by the Ministry of Education and Research.