Over 3 million children started a new school year today (September 17 ) in Romania, with some 200,000 of them residing in Bucharest. Less than a million children will study in primary schools, including pre-school classes – also called class zero, which was introduced this year and which has 128,000 children enrolled, while 800,000 children will go to 'gymnasium,' and 850,000 are in high school. Around 600,000 kids are going to kindergarten this year.

The pre-school class – or class zero was a novelty this year for Romania, and it sparked debate from the first day of school for 6-year old children moving from kindergarten to school. Prime Minister Ponta, who attended a school opening ceremony in Targu Jiu, said the pre-school class should have been left as part of the kindergarten, rather than of the school, suggesting that it could be like this from next year.

“I think we rushed a bit and gave a lot of headaches to parents with this pre-school class, I think kids should have stayed for one more year in kindergarten and been better prepared when joining school,” said the PM.

Another novelty will be introduced this year in the education system, with the professional baccalaureate on the cards for the end of the school year. High school students who wish to enter the labor market directly will have the chance to take a vocational baccalaureate, which will be a new form of high school graduation.

“This means that we will have the national baccalaureate that we now have, with the same tests, same content, and the vocational baccalaureate for those not aiming for higher education, but will instead go to work. In this way, through the vocational baccalaureate, we will give them certification for the professional world,” said the Minister of Education Ecaterina Andronescu.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: sxc.hu)