Almost 40% of students from 20 Romanian state universities drop out during final year

Almost 40 percent of the students who were to finish studies in 2013 at 20 state universities in Romania have dropped out in their final year, according to the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania (ANOSR), quoted by local Mediafax. ANOSR has asked the Minister Delegate for Higher Education, Mihnea Costoiu, and other representatives of the Romanian Government, to take measures so as students are no longer be forced to drop out of university. Analyzing data from 20 universities, ANOSR found that the average rate of abandonment among those who should have finished university in 2013 was of almost 40 percent. Meanwhile, the measures taken by the state and the universitiesto diminish the phenomenon are sometimes “at the limit of being ridiculous, or below this limit,” according to the alliance's representatives. “The social scholarship is on average almost three times lower than the needed amount, and the surveyed universities have, on average, one employee specialized in career counseling or psychological counseling to over 8,000 students,” said Cristi Popescu, educational vice-president ANOSR, quoted by Mediafax. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com