A year of private school in Romania can cost as much as a new car: between 10,000 and 12,000 euros. For some parents, these amounts are seen as an investment in the future of the child, for others, as a sacrifice made from the desire to avoid the shortcomings in the State School. However, specialists warn that education is not bought on credit, and students experiences show that the difference between state and private is not always the one that parents imagine.
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Aurora Oprea, a vocational counselor, points out that the discussion of “private versus state” cannot be understood without first looking at the social stratification that already marks the future of children. “The social blankets, the stratification and separation of the masses from a financial point of view has marked the fate of the future society in all its aspects. In short, the children who come from disadvantaged environments very difficult, at all, will be able to overcome their condition for the simple fact that the most handy for survival was the school abandonment in favor of the work and in the case of the work.“She says for the truth.
The counselor shows that the problem is found even in the “idyllic village” that some politicians invoke romantically. “Romania has this reality in the picturesque, idyllic village, on the one hand, the lack of infrastructure, electricity,” road as in the story “to school, of whole kilometers and sprinkled with all kinds, that Moromete's Axis has values other than those in the political class”, adds Aurora Oprea.
Parents trapped between fear and the mirage of the private
Administrative failures and lack of investments in education have created a fertile ground for the explosion of private schools. “Parents with a solid financial situation are heading towards the mirage of private schools. The misfortune is that on the Romanian market this type of financial effort is made and much of those who normally allow themselves. See the example of private nurseries and kindergartens, who hide fundamental errors to approach education but pack them,” explains Aurora Oprea.
It also underlines the danger of loans for school fees: “But great care for the mistake of making credit with the best intention to give the child a better chance than we had, but we do not invest where you need because the real loss will be the chance of education of the child.”
Real costs: how much a new car
Taxes vary between 6,000 and 12,000 euros per year for private schools in big cities. For comparison, the average net salary in Romania is only 1,000 euros. Under these conditions, for many parents the choice of private becomes a simple calculation: if they give the state anyway money on meditations, transport and “attention”, it better moves this money to a system that promises smaller classes, motivated teachers and the lack of bullying.
“If I give it, I take it to the state, as they give meditations and on the road, a year, I better put a little and give it to a private school where there is no pressure, it does what they like, they learn without stress … But I do not take into account, why in these schools the students have only high grades … do they reflect reality?”warns Aurora Oprea.
The crystal bowl and the lack of competitiveness
The vocational counselor draws attention that the reality of the private is not always the promised: “The lack of competitiveness, the lack of challenges in the state system, as imperfect as it is, that it is, does not give birth to a disadvantage and a handicap for the one who is educated” with the elite “, in the crystal bowl of private schools?”
She recalls that the remarkable results of the Romanian students, the international prizes and the academic performance came largely from the public system. “Most do not do meditations, but create a bridge with their teachers, with parents, they want to work more than in the class and do not do 'for money', with meditations. They are teachers and performance teachers!shows Aurora Oprea.
Online voices: Experiences divided
On Reddit, a user writes sharply: “Yes (…) 99.9% of the children in Romania have learned in the state (…) We know nothing but communist and useless teachers and outdated and outdated curriculum that has nothing to do with the company or the labor market.”
The replica does not delay to appear, from another user: “In fact, not all the teachers from the state is so.
On Quora, the answers to the question “Does it make sense to study in Romania?” varies. A Romanian writes: “Education in Romania is free to the doctorate for Romanian citizens. Especially in areas as medicine, the system is among the best. Many strangers come to study here. ”
Another user tells: “My wife, IB evaluator, visited a vocational high school in a suburb of Bucharest and was shocked to discover the level of international school. Many Romanians judge the system after dreams, not after the reality compared to other countries.”
But there is another type of experiences: “The exams are heavy, but there are always alternatives to pass them. If you do not want to learn, no one stresses you. The system is like a Bud/S Navy Seal Training: if they do not kill you, it makes you stronger. The friendships in the Romanian faculties remain in life, this is certain.”
Between the heart and reason
Aurora Oprea summarizes the parents' dilemma: “Parents have to weigh and not only with the heart, like every parent wanting what is best for his child, but a set of values, aspects, which they want but to be tangible and achievable.”
Finally, the difference between state and private is related to the resources of each family and the expectations that parents have from education. For some, private school is the response to the shortcomings of the public system. For others, the state school remains a land of authentic performance.
