New school year begins in Romania with changes to structure, curriculum

Over two and a half million students returned to classes on Monday, September 11, in Romania. The 2023-2024 school year will have 36 weeks and is structured into 5 modules, giving students five vacations.

The five modules are as follows:

• Module 1 - September 11 to October 28, followed by the autumn break
• Module 2 - November 6 to December 22, followed by the winter break
• Module 3 - January 8 to February 9, or later in the same month. There is also a skiing vacation from February 12 to March 3. Dates will be decided by each county school inspectorate
• Module IV - February 19 or 26, or March 4, to April 26, followed by the spring break
• Module V - May 8 to June 21, followed by the summer break

For most students, the starting school year is 36 weeks long. However, for 12th-grade classes, 13th-grade evening classes, and reduced-frequency classes, the school year lasts only 34 weeks and ends on June 7. For 8th-grade classes, the school year lasts for 35 weeks and ends on June 14, 2024. For vocational high school classes and professional education classes, the school year lasts for 37 weeks and ends on June 28, 2024, according to Digi24.

The legal holidays part of the 2023-2024 school year include October 5 (Education Day), November 30 (Saint Andrew), and December 1 (National Day of Romania), among others.

The School's Out Program and Green Week Program will take place from September 11, 2023, to April 26, 2024, in intervals of 5 consecutive working days, planned at the discretion of the educational institution. The two programs will be scheduled during different course intervals.

Between June 11 and June 14, registration for the National Evaluation takes place. On June 25, the Romanian Language and Literature exam is held, followed on June 27 by the Mathematics exam. The initial results are posted on June 28, 2024.

The Baccalaureate exam begins between June 17 and June 19, 2024, when the evaluation of oral communication skills in Romanian takes place.

The new school year also brings a new subject to the core curriculum for high school students. "Jewish History. The Holocaust," will be taught in the 11th grade for regular and vocational high school education, evening high school education, the technological pathway, and in the 12th grade for special vocational education, special upper secondary education, the technological pathway, and evening high school education, the theoretical pathway.