One in five Romanian children does not graduate school on time (org)

Save the Children Romania is asking the government for a plan of immediate measures following an analysis that revealed several essential points: high school non-participation, discriminatory access to fair healthcare services, precariousness of emotional well-being, sexual abuse, significant urban/rural gap.

"Many Romanian children have frequent sleep problems (over 41% of the 15-year-old girls), they frequently feel agitated (up to 57% also of the 15-year-old girls), they feel alone frequently or permanently (32% of 15-year-old girls). The percentage of school non-participation increases with age, reaching 13.25% in the case of 14-year-olds, 17.26% in the case of 15-year-olds and 19-year-olds, 01% in the case of 16-year-olds. Annually, over 7,000 children are born to underage mothers. Although not having come out of age, almost 1,200 of these mothers are on their second or even third birth. Over half a million of children (536,000) have recently had at least one parent work abroad. 46% of children report that their parents resort to corporal punishment, a much higher percentage than parents who admit to using such punishment, " reads a statement released on Wednesday by the organisation.

More than half of Romanian children (55.1%) want to leave the country and settle abroad, and according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Romania is one of the countries where the difference in performance generated by the social and economic background of students reach the highest level.

Among the notifications of sexual abuse with minor victims, less than 20% are finalised by sending the aggressors to court.

Statistics "clearly illustrate the effect of poverty and inflation on daily living, especially in the case of families with children."

The organisation mentions that over a quarter of families with three or more children cannot afford to keep their houses adequately heated.

Other recommendations made by the organisation are: the expansion of the national program "Healthy meals in schools" starting with the 2025-2026 school year, for every child in nurseries, kindergartens and schools in economically vulnerable communities (especially in small rural and urban schools), regulations for the provision by the local administrations of each small town of a joint team of information and integrated intervention made up of community nurses and social workers, reimbursing from the national or local budgets the travel expenses of specialist doctors for vulnerable pregnant women in disadvantaged communities.