The Ministry of Education and Research proposes to supplement the social scholarship fund for students for 2026 with 60 million euros, which would mean that this fund in the new year would be close to 2024 and 2025 and approximately 35% larger than in 2023.
According to a press release sent to the press on Thursday, these days, at the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Research, technical discussions are taking place with the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) and the European Commission, to identify financial allocation solutions - through European funds - with the aim of supporting students' social scholarships.
"The first step is the proposal to supplement the scholarship fund for 2026 with approximately 60 million euros, which will make the scholarship fund in the new year nominally and in practice close to 2024 and 2025 (after resizing) and approximately 35% larger than in 2023. This approach, which targets the social component, both for budget students and those on fee-paying courses, should not only help students, but also reduce the pressure on university students' contribution, which could also be performance-oriented. In this way, both the social component and performance can be supported, but the decision is up to each university, for me the important thing is that we strengthen the social component by 60 million euros from the ministry," said the Minister of Education and Research, Daniel David, quoted in press release.
In his opinion, this approach is very important to support young people during their university studies, given that Romania has too few students (university graduates) compared to the general population.
"In the technical discussions at the ministry, we requested that, immediately after approval, the program be implemented, so that the scholarships can be accessed from the beginning of 2026. The estimate is that the first payments will be made in February (for January). I thank the representatives of the European Commission (primarily Vice President Roxana Minzatu) and the representatives of MIPE for the openness shown towards the ministry's proposal, because in such complicated situations, when the country needs support and understanding, our larger home, the European Union, was close!," the minister said.
He reiterated that in education-research, in the crisis situation, the necessary measures were taken to avoid blockage.
"The fact that in pre-university education, valid employment contracts were not interrupted (in fact, the number of holders increased by over 2,200 people), in the process of resizing student scholarships, we kept the focus on social and technological scholarships and awards for international Olympians (see the Olympic Gala), along with merit scholarships redesigned for relevance, and we left freedom to universities to support students from their own funds, represent so many measures that helped in the fiscal-budgetary crisis. After this stabilization, we must grow along with the growth of the country, especially along the lines of other student rights, Olympic scholarships and the increase in the value of hourly pay (even if gradual) in the pre-university system, including the unblocking of positions in the system and the issue of relief," the minister also said.
Comentează