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World Vision Romania supports the educational expenses of 90 students from the rural area through the "I want to enter 9th grade" programme, considering that the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers equals, on average, with three years of study, according to PISA data, told Agerpres.
According to a press release from World Vision Romania sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, the package of educational services that teenagers from the "I want to enter the 9th grade" programme have access to includes monthly scholarships to cover expenses for basic needs - supplies, clothes, transport, housing payment, as well as monthly non-formal education activities, where they learn about managing emotions, ethics in relationships with the people around them, healthy lifestyle.
Students also benefit from vocational guidance and mentoring, visits to universities and employers, "back to community" type of activities to encourage them to find solutions to problems in their communities, summer camps - for most of them being the first time in their lives when they go to such camps.
Psychological and social counseling, tutoring on the main topics of study, access to the Internet and electronic devices for online learning will also be provided, the same press release states.
Almost one in five students from the rural environment who started the first grade in 2012 was lost until the graduation of the 8th grade in 2020. Comparatively, the dropout rate among students from the urban area, from the same generation, was four times lower, shows the latest report of the Ministry of Education regarding the state of pre-university education.
At the same time, students from the rural environment had three times more averages below 5 compared to those from the urban environment at the national exam this summer. Comparatively, the 90 students supported in the programme, who come from disadvantaged communities in Ilfov and Ialomita counties, reached high school in a proportion of over 93pct.
The education of the 90 secondary school and high school students is supported by World Vision together with the PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo.
