Here is information regarding the measures taken by the Government of Romania through Emergency Ordinances No. 15 of February 27, 2022 and No. 20 of March 7, 2022 and No. 69 of May 26, 2022, Order of the Minister of Education No. 5638/2020 of September 28, 2020 as well as alternative education solutions for Ukrainian children.
Access to education for Ukrainian children offered by the Romanian state:
According to the Ordinances issued by the Government of Romania, Ukrainian minors, with a form of protection, benefit from the following rights in the field of education:
a) the right to education in educational institutions in Romania under the same conditions and with funding from the same budgets as for Romanian preschoolers and students;
b) the right to free accommodation in boarding schools, food allowance, supplies, clothing, footwear, textbooks.
The pre-university education system in Romania is structured as follows: the primary cycle (preparatory class and grades I-IV), the gymnasium cycle (grades V-VIII) and the high school (grades IX-XII). Because the secondary school cycle in Ukraine ends in the 9th grade and because in Romania there is also a preparatory class, the Romanian School Inspectorate equates the level of studies in Ukraine with one year of studies less. Thus, if the student has finished the 5th grade in Ukraine, he can enroll in the Romanian education system in the 5th grade at the most.
If the child wants to be accommodated in the Romanian education system, he can be enrolled (through a simplified procedure) in Romanian schools as an unattached student.
An unattached student is a student schooled in another country, who continues, at the request of the parent, legal representative, or adult student, the schooling in Romania and is registered in provisional catalogs, until the studies are equated and any differences are supported.
For pre-university, the minors will undergo examination by the health state and will be issued a medical document for enrollment. If not vaccinated, minors can update their vaccination status according to the National Vaccination Program carried out by the Ministry of Health.
After acquiring the status of audience, they have the following rights:
a) participation in educational and extracurricular activities within the pre-university. Participation in extracurricular activities is not conditional on the quality of audience;
b) schooling in hospital-type medical assistance units, in accordance with the legal provisions, for students with disabilities, respectively for students who suffer from chronic diseases or who have conditions for which they are hospitalized on a period longer than 4 weeks;
c) access to local, naval, underground, car, rail, and river transportation, throughout the calendar year similar to students enrolled in pre-university education in Romania ;
d) free of charge access for all categories of transport provided for in subsection c;
e) allocation of basic foods to all children in primary and secondary education granted through the ongoing social programs.
Minors, registered as unattached students, can acquire the status of a student in Romania after the recognition or equivalence by the school inspectorates, respectively by the ministry of the studies followed abroad and, as the case may be, after passing the difference exams established within the equivalence procedure, in accordance with the provisions order of the Minister of Education.
Ukrainian students enrollment in Romanian secondary schools:
In accordance with the Order of the Minister of Education No. 5638/2020 of September 28, 2020, Ukrainian students can equate their studies by submitting a series of documents to:
a) county school inspectorate/Bucharest City School Inspectorate;
b) the educational unit where the student attends classes as an unattached student, in accordance with the provisions of the Order of the Minister of Education and Research no. 5.447/2020 regarding the approval of the framework Regulation for the organization and operation of pre-university education units.
The file for the equivalence of studies will contain:
a) request;
b) transcript for classes in Romania (if applicable) – original;
c) school documents showing the level, duration and promotion of the class/classes for which equivalence is requested – copies and authorized translations;
d) valid identification document of the student – copy;
e) other documents, if applicable (certificate issued by the competent authority in the country of origin confirming the authenticity of the study documents).
The assessment for equivalence is carried out at the level of the last graduated class or in the process of graduating. The deadline for solving the equalization file is 30 working days from the date of submission of the complete file.
The equivalence certificate issued by the county school inspectorate/School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest, is valid for enrollment in any pre-university in the network of the Ministry of Education and Research, for employment on the labor market and for enrollment in professional training courses.
Ukrainian students enrollment in Romanian high school:
To enroll in the 9th grade, according to the Emergency Ordinance No. 69 of May 26, 2022, students can follow the procedure below. Otherwise, at any time of the year and for the equivalence of studies, the detailed registration procedure for the secondary school cycle is applied.
Ukrainian students who completed their secondary education studies in Romania or completed their secondary education studies in Ukraine, based on the documents issued by these institutions, can enroll in the 9th grade without taking any assessment exam and without calculating the average grade according to the Romanian education procedure.
Enrollment is based on the options expressed in writing by the legal representatives/companion regarding the branch/profile/specialization/professional qualification desired. The registration file will be submitted to the County or Bucharest School Inspectorate. New regulations will be updated as needed.
The file will include the enrollment application written in Romanian, English or Ukrainian, the transcript for those who have completed secondary school education in Romania/documents proving the completion of secondary school education in Ukraine, the original identity card/passport or birth certificate and/ or in copy, if the students have these documents. The evaluation of the application, the assignment of the student to an educational institution and the communication of the result will be done by an admission committee. The student will be sent the assignment file later, which the student will submit to the educational unit to which the student was assigned.
Alternative education solutions for Ukrainian children:
The war in Ukraine unfortunately continues, and the need for Ukrainian children to have access to physical school is as great as the need to integrate and make new connections, acquaintances and friends. A child’s development consists, not only in the accumulation of knowledge, but also in the access to education through communication and interaction with peers. In the bigger cities in Romania, there are initiatives of alternative schools, in a physical format and with teaching in the Ukrainian language, where we encourage you to enroll your children, especially if it is difficult for them to adapt to the Romanian language.
List of schools in Romania with teaching in the Ukrainian language.
