Types of high schools in Romania:
• National College (Colegiu Naţional) - the most renowned high schools in Romania; most take part in at at least one international program such as Cervantes, SOCRATES, Eurolikes, etc. Most national colleges are over 100 years old, and all have a very strong tradition in education. Here are some renowned national colleges: Saint Sava National College in Bucharest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sava_National_College), Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Bucharest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_Laz%C4%83r_National_College_(Bucharest), German College Goethe, Tudor Vianu Bucharest, National College Iaşi, National College Carol I Craiova, National College Mihai Eminescu Constanţa, National College B.P. Hasdeu Buzau (http://bphasdeu.ro/view_page.php?id=23), etc.
• Military College (Colegiu Militar) - there are 3 high schools administered by the Romanian Army: Colegiul Militar Liceal Mihai Viteazu in Alba Iulia, Colegiul Militar Liceal Ştefan cel Mare in Câmpulung Moldovenesc and Colegiul Militar Liceal Dimitrie Cantemir in Breaza.
• Economic College or Technical College (Colegiu Economic or Colegiu Tehnic) - A high school with average results and with an academic program based on technical education.
• Liceu (Standard High school) - (e.g. Liceul Teoretic Mihai Eminescu, Buzau or Liceul Economic Ion Luca Caragiale, Bucharest)
• Grup Şcolar - a group of two schools - a high school (usually offering academic Programs in the field of technical or services education) and a Craft and Trade School.
Contests between schools exist, as well as nationwide academic contests (known as Olimpiade — Olympiads) being used to promote the best students. These contests are highly popular, as they bring many advantages to the students taking part in them (free trips and holidays, better preparation for the final exams — as these are structured like an exam). The students who manage to get the highest score in Olympiads are allowed to participate in international contests.
After graduating from high school, students must take the National Baccalaureate Exam (Examenul Naţional de Bacalaureat). The Bacalaureat consists of 2 or 3 oral examinations and 4 or 5 written examinations, usually spanning on the course of one and a half weeks in late June and September. It is a highly centralized, national exam.
Unlike the Swedish or French systems, the choice of high school curriculum does not limit the choices for university. In other words, if a student has studied economics in high school, he is allowed to apply to a University for Foreign Languages.
Here are some renowned Romanian universities University of Iaşi (http://www.uaic.ro/uaic/bin/view/Main/?language=en), University of Bucharest (http://www.unibuc.ro/en/), Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe%C8%99-Bolyai_University), Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj. Higher education in Romania is less centralized than in many countries in the West, with every university having its own internal policies regarding admission, exams and conditions for graduation. Universities have full autonomy, in stark contrast from the pre-university level. The system of higher education has suffered both from a lack of qualified professors and from no government initiative to support and expand the network of universities. Romania also has a private system of higher education, with private universities operating in the larger cities (http://www.edu.ro/index.php/articles/text/3880).
In Romania, after 1990, the universities were the first kind of institution to start the reforms for democratization of education. They achieved autonomy, an impossible goal during the socialist regime. Students had been a very active social category participating in the social protests in the years 1956, 1968 and 1989. After 1990, they formed a very radical offensive campaign aimed against communist politicians. The University Square movement began when, around the University of Bucharest, these students proclaimed a ‘communist free zone’, installed tents around the area and protested for over 40 days demanding that communist statesmen be dismissed from public functions. Additionally, they demanded the autonomy of mass-media. However, Romanian students’ movements were a model for other neighboring countries. For instance, Bulgarian students made an alliance with union syndicates and protested through marathon demonstrations and strikes. The difference in that case was that their union syndicates were strong allies of students. Also, their movement was less radical but more powerful and realistic. In this case, they succeeded to dismiss some communist leaders. In Ukraine, the social movements from the end of 2004 against electoral frauds had the same structure.
• National College (Colegiu Naţional) - the most renowned high schools in Romania; most take part in at at least one international program such as Cervantes, SOCRATES, Eurolikes, etc. Most national colleges are over 100 years old, and all have a very strong tradition in education. Here are some renowned national colleges: Saint Sava National College in Bucharest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sava_National_College), Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Bucharest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_Laz%C4%83r_National_College_(Bucharest), German College Goethe, Tudor Vianu Bucharest, National College Iaşi, National College Carol I Craiova, National College Mihai Eminescu Constanţa, National College B.P. Hasdeu Buzau (http://bphasdeu.ro/view_page.php?id=23), etc.
• Military College (Colegiu Militar) - there are 3 high schools administered by the Romanian Army: Colegiul Militar Liceal Mihai Viteazu in Alba Iulia, Colegiul Militar Liceal Ştefan cel Mare in Câmpulung Moldovenesc and Colegiul Militar Liceal Dimitrie Cantemir in Breaza.
• Economic College or Technical College (Colegiu Economic or Colegiu Tehnic) - A high school with average results and with an academic program based on technical education.
• Liceu (Standard High school) - (e.g. Liceul Teoretic Mihai Eminescu, Buzau or Liceul Economic Ion Luca Caragiale, Bucharest)
• Grup Şcolar - a group of two schools - a high school (usually offering academic Programs in the field of technical or services education) and a Craft and Trade School.
Contests between schools exist, as well as nationwide academic contests (known as Olimpiade — Olympiads) being used to promote the best students. These contests are highly popular, as they bring many advantages to the students taking part in them (free trips and holidays, better preparation for the final exams — as these are structured like an exam). The students who manage to get the highest score in Olympiads are allowed to participate in international contests.
After graduating from high school, students must take the National Baccalaureate Exam (Examenul Naţional de Bacalaureat). The Bacalaureat consists of 2 or 3 oral examinations and 4 or 5 written examinations, usually spanning on the course of one and a half weeks in late June and September. It is a highly centralized, national exam.
Unlike the Swedish or French systems, the choice of high school curriculum does not limit the choices for university. In other words, if a student has studied economics in high school, he is allowed to apply to a University for Foreign Languages.
Here are some renowned Romanian universities University of Iaşi (http://www.uaic.ro/uaic/bin/view/Main/?language=en), University of Bucharest (http://www.unibuc.ro/en/), Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe%C8%99-Bolyai_University), Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj. Higher education in Romania is less centralized than in many countries in the West, with every university having its own internal policies regarding admission, exams and conditions for graduation. Universities have full autonomy, in stark contrast from the pre-university level. The system of higher education has suffered both from a lack of qualified professors and from no government initiative to support and expand the network of universities. Romania also has a private system of higher education, with private universities operating in the larger cities (http://www.edu.ro/index.php/articles/text/3880).
In Romania, after 1990, the universities were the first kind of institution to start the reforms for democratization of education. They achieved autonomy, an impossible goal during the socialist regime. Students had been a very active social category participating in the social protests in the years 1956, 1968 and 1989. After 1990, they formed a very radical offensive campaign aimed against communist politicians. The University Square movement began when, around the University of Bucharest, these students proclaimed a ‘communist free zone’, installed tents around the area and protested for over 40 days demanding that communist statesmen be dismissed from public functions. Additionally, they demanded the autonomy of mass-media. However, Romanian students’ movements were a model for other neighboring countries. For instance, Bulgarian students made an alliance with union syndicates and protested through marathon demonstrations and strikes. The difference in that case was that their union syndicates were strong allies of students. Also, their movement was less radical but more powerful and realistic. In this case, they succeeded to dismiss some communist leaders. In Ukraine, the social movements from the end of 2004 against electoral frauds had the same structure.