Over 100 higher education institutes have opened for 2012-2013 academic year on October 1, with student numbers down on 2011 due to the poor results in national baccalaureate exam and the expense of fees.

According to the Ministry of Education, Romania has 56 public higher education institutions and their number is almost equal to those of the private ones. Of these, 35 private higher education institutions are accredited, 21 private higher education institutions are authorized to function temporarily, and five have temporary functioning authorization for Master's study programs / postgraduate studies.

62,400 places are available but there is no centralized date to show how many have been filled. Last year 62,850 places were available.

Last year there were 140,388 students, including 31,172 in the first year and expectations for 2012-2013 are for slightly fewer student than in 2011, as a result the low baccalaureate pass rate and the financial crisis preventing many from paying tuition fees.

Over 10,000 foreign student study in Romania and their number is relatively constant from year to year. Most of them choose the medical schools, technical sciences and economics. Among the young people who have chosen to study in Romania most come from Tunisia, with 1,164 entrants, Israel - 1002, France - 967, Italy - 950, Greece - 858, and Germany - 488, among others.

Ioana Toader, ioana.toader@romania-insider.com 

(photo source: sxc.hu)