Timişoara Student Scholarships, Austerity and University Autonomy

The three major state universities in Timişoara - the West University (UVT), the Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF) and the Politehnica University (UPT) - apply distinct policies regarding student scholarships during the vacation period. UMF Timişoara currently grants scholarships to over 1,500 students, but announced that it does not have its own resources to cover the months of August and September 2025. UVT supports almost 4,500 scholarship holders, some of which are financed from its own funds, and is preparing, together with student organizations, a revision of the methodology in accordance with the new regulations. UPT went the furthest, being the only institution that decided to continue paying certain scholarships from its own income, even during the vacation period, in order to protect students from the impact of austerity.

• Legislative changes that led to the crisis

The application of Law no. 141/2025 on some fiscal-budgetary measures and of the Order of the Minister of Education no. 4,957/2025 fundamentally changed the financing of scholarships:

The scholarship fund is now strictly correlated with the period of teaching activities, which excludes holidays; The calculation is made relative to 10% of the net minimum wage, not the gross one, which considerably reduces the fund allocated to universities. Thus, students lose financial support during the summer months, even if the academic year officially ends in September.

• Student reaction: protests in Timişoara

Hundreds of students from all over the country, gathered under the auspices of the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania (ANOSR), protested in Timişoara, in front of the Prefecture and in Victoriei Square. The main grievances: the cessation of scholarships during holidays; reducing the total scholarship fund by changing the calculation method; reducing transportation facilities, limited strictly to the home-university route.

Students accuse the lack of real dialogue from the Government and the absence of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan from direct consultations.

• Position of the Government and the Ministry of Education

The Minister of Education, Daniel David, present in Timişoara at the ANOSR Forum, conveyed that these measures are temporary and imposed by the critical budgetary situation. "Nobody wanted them and they would not have been taken in this form under normal conditions. These are crisis measures, to ensure salaries and scholarships until the end of 2025," the minister declared. At the same time, he promised that the budget for scholarships in the next academic year will be higher than in 2022-2023 and that the ministry remains open to structural reforms, once the fiscal situation is stabilized.

• University autonomy and social solidarity

The situation of the three Timisoara universities highlights the tension between university autonomy and dependence on budget funding. While UPT finds internal resources to continue some scholarships, UMF and UVT say they do not have sufficient financial flexibility. This difference raises questions about: equity between students from different universities; the capacity of institutions to attract their own income; the role of the Ministry in standardizing criteria and opportunities for all students.

The scholarship crisis in the summer of 2025 is a test for academic solidarity and for the state's ability to protect students in times of austerity. While the Government insists that the measures are temporary and necessary, students are demanding clear guarantees that their rights and social support will not be permanently diminished.