Almost four in five (78%) Romanian households reported difficulties in paying the costs of formal education, in 2016, one of the highest shares in the European Union, according to Eurostat.

The situation was worse only in Greece, where 89% of the households had difficulties in paying for education, and Cyprus, where the percentage was 82%.

Meanwhile, in Finland, Germany and Sweden, over 85% of the households were able to cover the costs of formal education with easily. Overall, some 59% of the households in the EU were able to pay for education with ease and 41% had difficulties.

The costs of formal education include tuition fees, registration, exam fees, books, school trips, canteen costs and other expected costs.

Romania is among the last in EU on education indicators. The percentage of early leavers from education in Romania was 19.1% in 2015, compared to a EU average of 11%. Moreover, only about a quarter (25.6%) of the Romanians between 30 and 34 have university studies, compared to a EU average of 38.7%. At the same time, only 1.3% of the Romanians participate in lifelong learning, compared to 10.7% of the EU citizens.

Romania’s public spending on education is about 3% of the GDP compared to 4.9% of the GDP in the EU.

editor@romania-insider.com