“Last minute offer: free accommodation, meals included, gym and you get money too”. The number of candidates for the school of gendarmes, increasing

Falling in recent years, young people's interest in MAI post-secondary schools is starting to grow again. For a unit from Vâlcea, it could be the best recruitment campaign in recent years. What benefits do young people have after graduation and what prohibitions.

The moment of taking the oath at the Dragașani Gendarmerie School PHOTO: FB/Drăgășani Gendarmerie School

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has put up for competition 700 vacancies at the two gendarmerie non-commissioned officer schools, in Dragășani and Fălticeni, registrations ending on Friday, October 17, 2025. It is the first time that registration is carried out exclusively online, through the “Hub of services at the MAI” platform, and applicants could be more numerous than in previous sessions.

The stable and fairly well-paid job seems to attract them in particular, but young people choose this weapon for other reasons as well. They are impressed by the uniform, consider that gendarmes are valued in society, want a challenging job, etc. In addition, I know that if they are assigned to a town other than their home town, they will receive a sum of money to pay the rent.

The selection proved difficult to pass in the previous sessions, being years in which the schools did not even cover their places put out for competition, on the one hand because the number of candidates was not very large, on the other hand because the training of many of those who signed up left much to be desired. It is most likely one of the reasons why there are two admission sessions per year. The period of schooling has also been halved, so that after one year of school graduates can take up their position in reception, choosing, depending on their academic performance, from a list of available positions.

“It's not like the Maldives, but let me show you the facilities!”

This year, the promotion of the tuition offer also exceeded the limit of classic recruitment ads.

Videos are posted on the Facebook account of the “Grigore Alexandru Ghica” Dragășani Military School for Non-Commissioned Officers, announcing in an unexpected way that the registration deadline is approaching.

“Free accommodation, meals included, fitness room and on top of that you also get money. Last minute offer”announces a young woman. The bedrooms, canteen, fitness room, sports fields, etc. are then presented.

“TV, three meals a day, personal trainer, access to the tennis and football courts, money on the card”, this time a young gendarme resumes the information, announcing that “not like in the Maldives, but…”.

It is difficult to say whether this promotion campaign attracted more young people than in previous years, but it is certain that the number of candidates enrolled at the school in Dragășani, Vâlcea county, was over 1,000, one day before the end of registration, according to the information provided by official sources within the school, at the request of “Adevărul”.

What evidence is supported

After registering through the “Services Hub” platform – which is done after the candidates have created an account and validated it according to the instructions presented on the portal, the deadline being October 17 – the young people have approximately two more weeks to upload, until November 3, 2025, the documents for the recruitment file. Enrollment can only be done at one of the post-secondary schools.

The next stage is the psychological assessment. It is carried out according to a plan drawn up by the structures with recruitment attributions within the units of the Romanian Gendarmerie in the county of residence.

The physical performance assessment test, one that gives the candidates a lot of trouble, will be held between November 7-12, 2025, in the zonal selection centers. Appeals, repetitions and examinations are not allowed for this test. Those admitted after taking the sports tests can take the knowledge assessment test, scheduled for November 15, at the unit for which they registered.

The medical examination will take place after passing the knowledge assessment test. It is scheduled between November 24 and December 19, 2025, and it is open to candidates who fall within the number of places available at the entrance exam, in descending order of final grades.

Final results will be available on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025.

You don't have a category B driver's license, you don't receive military ranks and assignment in an MAI unit

Candidates who opt for admission competitions in post-secondary education institutions for the places allocated to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie must hold or obtain a category B driver's license until graduation. Those who do not meet this condition until the end of the courses will not participate in the graduation exam, i.e. they will not acquire a certificate of competence, military ranks or assignment in any MAI unit. the subsequent permit, they can take the graduation exam with the next series of students.

“In the event of failure to pass the graduation exam and failure to obtain a category B driver's license, the candidate is obliged to pay maintenance expenses during schooling”. it is mentioned in the competition announcement.

Candidates declared “admitted” enter into commitments obliging themselves, after graduating from school, to perform the service for a minimum of 10 years in the units where they will be assigned or moved later, in relation to the needs of the Ministry of Interior. under the above conditions, they are also obliged to reimburse the maintenance expenses incurred by the MAI during their schooling.

Less than 500 candidates enrolled in the October – December 2024 session

In the October – December 2024 session, at the “Grigore Alexandru Ghica” NCO Military School in Dragășani, less than 500 candidates (497) applied for the 350 available places, but the admission rate was 65% (327 admitted candidates). In the March-June 2025 session, the interest, contrary to what usually happens, was higher than in the fall. 691 candidates applied, the average being almost two candidates/place, instead the admission rate was only 35%.

10% of the candidates who apply for admission, according to the statistics of the non-commissioned officer school, provided at the request of “The Truth”, are graduates of higher education. Most candidates, in the previous sessions, came from Gorj county, followed by Olt, Dolj, Argeș and Vâlcea.

“At the moment there is a trend of increasing interest from young people in rural areas”the representatives of the educational unit sent.

Young women, on the other hand, represented only 4% of the candidates admitted to a session. The physical performance assessment test and the psychological assessment test posed the greatest problems to the candidates.

Compared to the period before the pandemic, interest in post-secondary military schools belonging to the Romanian Gendarmerie has decreased. The figures from the present session instead show a recovery of this trend.