The Ministry of Education announced a reform of the scholarships paid to pupils, while the Ruling Programme, as published by the Government, envisages a 40% reduction in the per-student budget for scholarships. Both measures prompted protests since they were among the first announced out of a broader set of measures aimed at achieving significant fiscal consolidation over the coming years.<\/p>\n
The budget for scholarships for pupils reached RON 6.4 billion (EUR 1.3 billion, 0.3% of GDP) this year, which is three times the budget for research, Minister of Education Daniel David<\/strong> commented, quoted by Edupedu.ro<\/a>. He warned that his ministry will no longer be able to pay the scholarships unless the allocation criteria are revised.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under the new system, the social scholarships, based on the families\u2019 revenues, will be maintained, while the performance-based scholarships will be restricted to pupils with an average grade of over 9.5 (out of 10) but no more than 15% of the number of pupils in the class. The scholarships paid to those winning school contests are suspended until the school contests are reviewed.\u00a0<\/p>\n As regards the students\u2019 scholarships, they are paid out of a budget calculated per student: 10% of the minimum gross wage. Under the revised system, the per-student allocation for the budget of scholarships is calculated as 10% of the minimum net wage. This is because the scholarships are not subject to taxation, Minister David argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n The annual budget of student scholarships, based on a number of 540,000 students, is RON 2.4 billion currently but will drop to just over RON 1.4 billion after the amendment.<\/p>\n