“Should we, the students, work part-time?”, The Union of Students asks the Minister of Education. “He chose to hit us without shame”

The Union of the representative students (UER) asks the Minister of Education, Daniel David, if “should we work to work part-time during the school, as you told students?”. The replica comes in the context of cutting from the school scholarships granted to students, who “discourage performance” and risks increasing school dropout, the students from UER say in a press release.

On August 13, the Ministry of Education published the project-Framework Methodology project on granting scholarships starting with the school year 2025-2026. The changes appear as a result of Law no. 141/2025 regarding some fiscal-budgetary measures, which eliminated the resilience and exchanges of excellence.

The new formula proposed by the ministry involves the preservation of three categories of scholarships:

• Social scholarships, intended for students from vulnerable environments, will continue to include the support given to minor mothers. These scholarships will be managed by the local social assistance authorities, based on a methodology initiated by the ministry.
• The merit scholarships will be awarded to students with averages of at least 9 (currently 9.50), within 15% of the total students in a class (currently a 30% limit). After the reorganization of the Olympics and competitions, the winners' prizes will be increased.
• Technological scholarships for students in professional education including dual

“A student with 9.85 can remain without a scholarship”

Students believe that limiting merit scholarships to 15% of colleagues in the class is “an unfair measure, because they do not really reflect the value of school results.”

“In this system, a student with an average of 9.85 can be deprived of scholarship only because it is a fifth in a class of 25 colleagues, while another student, with an average of 9.25, can benefit from the scholarship only because it is among the first in a weaker class. Thus, the performance is no longer appreciated according to objective standards, but according to an arbitrary criterion,” transmitted by the Union of representative students.

“In addition to the abolition of the Olympic Excellence Scholarships, the methodology eliminates the merit scholarships for students who obtained prizes at the Olympics, school competitions or national sports competitions. This measure represents a direct blow to the school performance. Instead of being rewarded for the exceptional results obtained through work and effort. It discourages the participation in competitions and Olympics, affecting both the personal development of the students and the prestige of the Romanian educational system ”, continues the students.

“The elimination of this distinct criterion empties the mission of social scholarships”

As for social scholarships, eliminating the criterion “single -parent families” is seen as an injustice. UER emphasizes that “a single -parent family means not only a small income, but a single parent who has to cover all the expenses alone.”

“Eliminating this distinct criterion means denying inequities and difficulties experienced by these families and empties the mission of social scholarships, that is to correct imbalances and to provide real chances of inclusion,” the students say.

“As a student from a single-parent family, with a parent who earns a little over the minimum wage on the economy and we still fail to handle, I feel the effects of these measures on my skin. But the problem is not just me, thousands of students will be hit. Eliminating these scholarships and the new criteria will increase the rate of school, It has no way to need financial support, because, as he himself acknowledged, during the studies he was supported by his parents, ”said Stefan Popa, president of the Union of representative students.

Moreover, the organization warns that the elimination of scholarships for “second chance” and for students from reduced frequency “will lead to decreased motivation and school dropout”, given that these scholarships represented the only support for continuing studies.

The Minister of Education advised students dissatisfied with cutting scholarships to take a part-time job

On Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Daniel David, met with the students, to discuss the measures regarding the fiscal-budgetary crisis with impact on the university and students in particular.

On the occasion of the Forum of the National Alliance of Student Organizations of Romania (ANOSR), organized in Timișoara, David discussed with students about the effects of the measures adopted by the Government and about the ways in which they can be managed in the university system, according to a statement of the Ministry of Education.

The government official stressed that the measures taken by the Government are necessary to ensure the necessary funds for salaries and scholarships by the end of 2025 and to prepare, subsequently, the development and reforms in the field in 2026.

“No one wanted them and would not have been taken in this form under normal conditions, and the fact that they are temporary shows the opening of the Government of Romania to return when the fiscal-budgetary conditions will allow this,” said Daniel David, quoted in the statement.

According to News.ro, in the debate section, talking about reducing the students' ticks, the minister said: “I do not want to upset you, but somehow I would think about taking a part-time job.”