| Education is accorded a high priority in the Romanian | | | | language, say English. The detailed syllabus is designed |
| scheme of things. The educated people have | | | | to make the children inquisitive and to make them |
| traditionally been given the respect that they deserve | | | | aware of a lot of facts and information. Upon |
| all through the ages in Romania. Vital positions in a rural | | | | evaluation, the children are awarded grades like "Very |
| society, like the village mayor, teacher or priest used to | | | | Good", "Good", "Satisfactory", and "Not Satisfactory". |
| be reserved for the educated ones. That tradition | | | | The next stage is the lower secondary school, which |
| continues to this day in Romania. Education is | | | | also lasts for four years. There are two terms in an |
| compulsory up to the age of 16 for every citizen of | | | | academic year, one before and one after the |
| the country. The level of education too is competitive | | | | Christmas holidays. There are holidays for Easter too, |
| for children and demanding for their teachers. | | | | and a long summer vacation stretches from the middle |
| In Romania, children start going to nursery school at the | | | | of June till the middle of September. New subjects that |
| age of three. They can continue with nursery till they | | | | are introduced at this stage include Physics, Chemistry, |
| are six or seven, depending on the level of their ability. | | | | and a second foreign language, for example French, |
| School commences at eight and is over by midday. | | | | German or Spanish. Two countrywide tests are held |
| The children learn to draw and colour, get acquainted | | | | at the end of either term in the 7th grade, i.e. the third |
| with the alphabets and are told many stories through | | | | year into lower secondary school. The subjects |
| which they are supposed to learn. It is the duty of the | | | | covered in these tests are Mathematics and |
| teachers to ensure that the students actually imbibe | | | | Romanian. |
| what they are taught. | | | | The end of the 8th grade, the most vital in lower |
| The children also learn how to sing and dance in | | | | secondary school, is marked by the final examination in |
| playschool. They are taught simple crafts, like making | | | | Romanian, Mathematics, and History or Geography. |
| boats and flowers from paper and also things from | | | | The results are declared in a scale of 1 through 10. The |
| their milieu that they can relate to, like snowflakes. | | | | results of the students in this test determine whether |
| Some nursery schools also teach the rudiments of a | | | | they can go on to high school or not. |
| foreign language like English, German or French from | | | | During this time students fill in a form, which has a list |
| such an early age, in addition to the mother tongue. | | | | of the high schools. Students can mark their choice of |
| On finishing nursery school, the children have to | | | | high school in the order of their preference on that |
| undergo tests by the primary schools they want to | | | | form. However, whether they actually make it to the |
| enroll with. Primary education lasts for four years, that | | | | schools of their choice would largely be determined by |
| is from the age of six or seven until the child is ten or | | | | the grades they score. |
| eleven years old. The school hours in primary schools | | | | Some students, who could not qualify for the high |
| too are from 8 a.m. till noon. Children bring some light | | | | school, are offered the opportunity of joining a |
| snacks to school, and are fed a small carton of milk | | | | vocational school. Here they can pick up different skills |
| along with a roll. They go home to have their lunch | | | | or crafts that would give them a vocational qualification |
| rather than have it in the school itself. | | | | on finishing the course chosen. |
| The curriculum in primary school is considerably more | | | | Finally at the end of four years of high school, students |
| varied. Students are taught the Romanian language, | | | | have to take the baccalaureate examination, after |
| Mathematics, Biology, Geography, History, Religion, | | | | which they become eligible to enter a university for |
| Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, as also a foreign | | | | furthering their academic career if they want so. |