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The performance of the education system is a mandatory element for Romania to continue to grow and develop, said prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who attended on Tuesday, alongside Senate president Nicolae Ciuca, Education minister Ligia Deca, and the minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, the award ceremony for the the international Olympiads winners in 2023, the teachers who prepared them and the educational units where the students study or have studied, organized by the Ministry of Education at the National Theatre I. L. Caragiale.
Marcel Ciolacu congratulated the Olympiad winners and their teachers for their performance in an education system with "good and bad" and stressed that he is aware that a truly educated Romania cannot be achieved in one year or in four and that resources are needed.
The president of the Senate, Nicolae Ciuca, urged students who have won prizes at international Olympiads and who choose to study abroad not to forget where they came from and return to Romania.
"Romania has potential, you are Romania's potential, your colleagues, your generation is the one for whom we must make decisions today and the one with whom we must discuss what will happen to Romania tomorrow. Beyond the potential, Romania has reached a level quite close to the European average, we are at 80 percent, but through everything you and your colleagues will do, Romania will certainly get where we are meant to be, but especially where we are taking it through our actions and our decisions," Ciuca told the Olympiad winners.
"144 students won over 170 prizes and medals this year at international Olympiads and competitions and that means we have more reasons to be happy than last year. The awards are a genuine source of pride for the whole country, but especially for those who have achieved them, for the families who have supported them, the teachers who have trained them and the schools they come from. Today, we celebrate excellence in education. (...) Today, more than 1.4 million RON in prizes will be awarded. The highest value of a prize is 20,000 RON. In 2023, Romania won prizes in 30 international Olympiads in various fields," said Education minister Ligia Deca.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Education, there are 138 Olympiad winners who won 164 medals, prizes and mentions at 28 international Olympiads and regional Olympiads or competitions by discipline (juniors and seniors), 138 teachers who trained them and the educational units (71) they came from. Of the 139 deserving students, 20 obtained 2, 3, 4 or 5 distinctions in international competitions.
Romanian students obtained 6 absolute gold medals (with maximum score), 51 gold medals/first prizes, 55 silver medals/ second prizes, 30 bronze medals/third prizes and 22 honourable mentions/equivalent diplomas.
