ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Basic organization

 

The Romanian Educational System is divided along two main levels:

 

1. Pre-University Level (Învăţământul Preuniversitar) is structured in 4 cycles:
1. Kindergarten (Grădiniţa or Învăţământul Preşcolar) — composed of three or four grades (Grupa Mică, Grupa Mijlocie, Grupa Mare and, sometimes, Pregătirea pentru Şcoală)
2. Primary school comprises two 4-grade periods:
1. Elementary school (Şcoala Primară) — grades I to IV
2. Gymnasium (Gimnaziu) — grades V to VIII
3. High school (Liceu) — four or five grades (grades IX to XII/XIII)
4. Vocational education (Învăţământ professional şi tehnic), which can continue or supplant High School to prepare students for careers that are based in manual or practical activities.

 

2. Higher education (Studii Superioare) is organized (or in the process of being organized) according to the principles of the Bologna process, which aims at the construction of the European higher education area. It has the following four components:
1. Bachelor (Licenţă) 3 years in most disciplines (as of 2005)
2. Master (Masterat) 2 years in most disciplines (as of 2008)
3. Doctorate (Doctorat) at least 3 years
4. Lifelong learning (cursuri postuniversitare, formare continuă), which includes postgraduate education occurring outside the Master/Doctorate framework.

Primary school is compulsory for all eight year olds, from age seven through ten being known as "primary education", while age eleven through fourteen is known as "gymnasium education". Most elementary schools are part of the public school system. Private elementary education has a 0.5% market share, according to the Romanian Ministry for Education.

Education in Romania is compulsory until the age of 16. In practice, given that most Romanians start school at the age of 6, the first ten years have been made compulsory by the ministry, starting with 2002. The educational system is identical nationwide and very centralized.

The system gives the following diplomas: Absolvire (elementary school graduation, no exam), Bacalaureat (high school graduation, after the Bacalaureat exam), Licenţă (University undergraduate graduation, after an exam and/or thesis), Masterat (Master's degree, after a thesis and possibly an exam), Doctorat (Ph. D., after a thesis).

Kindergarten

Children can start as early as three years old and can stay until they are six or seven years old. Kindergarten is optional and typically lasts for 3 or 4 forms - "Small Group" (Grupa Mică) for children aged 3-4, "Middle Group" (Grupa Mijlocie), for children aged 4-5, "Big Group" (Grupa Mare) for children aged 5-6 and "School Preparation Class" (Pregătire pentru școală) for children aged 6-7. The last form is only offered by some kindergartens.

Services include initiation in foreign languages (typically English or German), introduction in computer studies, dancing, swimming etc. All kindergartens will provide at least one meal or one snack, some having their own kitchens and their own cooks, others opting for dedicated catering services. Many kindergartens (especially private venues) will provide children with transportation to and from the kindergarten. Groups typically have 1-2 teachers (educatori) and 10-15 children (typically more in state kindergartens).

Most kindergartens offer parents three types of programs, in order to better suit the parents' schedules - a short schedule (typically 8 AM to 1 PM, with one snack or meal), a medium schedule (typically 8 AM to 3 PM, with one snack and one meal) and a long schedule (typically 8 AM to 5-6 PM, with three snacks and one meal, and almost always including after lunch sleeping periods).

The private sector has a very large role in providing kindergarten and day care services, having a large proportion in the market share for preschool education. Typical tuition fees for private kindergarten range between 100 and 400 Euro monthly, depending on the town/city where the institution is located and on the services offered, whereas for public kindergarten there is no tuition fee (some may, however, charge for meals and/or transportation).

The relative number of available places in kindergartens is small, many having waiting lists or requiring admission and formalities to be done at least six months in advance. The lack of available places is especially obvious in state-run kindergartens, that charge no tuition fees, especially given the relatively high tuition fees of private venues. Local councils, especially in larger cities (such as Bucharest or Sibiu), where both parents typically work, seeing an increase in demand, have begun investing in expanding existing kindergartens, building new ones or offering stipends for private kindergartens as to cover part of the tuition fees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elementary school

Elementary School lasts 8 years in Romania. Most elementary schools are public. Private elementary education has under 2 percent market share, according to MEC. Unless parents choose a school earlier, the future student is automatically enrolled in the school nearest to his or her residence. Some schools that have a good reputation are flooded with demands from parents even two or three years in advance. A negative consequence of this is that in many schools classes are held in two or even three shifts, lasting from as early as 7 a.m. to as late as 8 p.m. Education is free in public schools (including some books and auxiliary materials), but not entirely (some textbooks, notebooks, pencils and uniforms might be required to be purchased).

School starts in the middle of September and ends in the middle of June the following year. It is divided into two semesters (September to January and February to June). There are four holiday seasons (Christmas — 2 weeks in December; Inter-Semestrial — 1 week in February; Easter (either Orthodox or Catholic in April or May — 1 week; and Summer or The Great Holiday, spanning from June 18 to September 1st), with an additional fifth holiday in November for students in the first 4 years.

A class (clasă) can have up to 30 students (25 is considered optimum), and there can be as few as one class per grade or as many as twenty classes per grade. Usually each group has its own classroom. Each group has its own designation, usually the grade followed by a letter of the alphabet (for example, VII A means that the student is in the 7th grade in the 'A' class).

Primary school

The first four years are taught by a single teacher (învăţător) for the most subjects. Additional teachers are assigned only for a few specialized subjects (Foreign Languages, Introduction to Computers, etc.). Having only one main teacher for the first four years usually leaves students with life-long memories, and many people fondly recall their primary school teacher as one of the most influential figures of their lives. At the end of primary school, curriculum starts to become congested. For instance, a 4th grade student (9-10 years of age) may have on a weekly basis

• 3-4 classes of math
• 4 classes of Romanian Language
• 1 class of history
• 1 class of geography
• 1-2 classes of science
• 2 classes of art
• 1-3 classes of a foreign language (Usually English, French or German*)
• 1 or 2 classes of Introduction to computers**
• 1 class of Civic Education (a subject teaching everything from personal hygiene to the Constitution to manners in society)
• 1 of religion* (optional; parents can withdraw children from these classes.^[2] The situation is, however, fuzzy,^[3] with many parent groups and associations being against teaching religion in schools.^[4] Attempt of withdrawal of the student from these classes by a parent is usually met with opposition by teachers in most schools.^[5])
• 1 of music
• 2 of physical education

*These subjects may or may not have teachers other than the main teacher.
** These subjects almost always have teachers other than the main teacher.

Gymnasium school

Classes are reshaped at the end of the 4th grade, based on academic performances. Many schools have special classes (such as intensive English classes or Informatics classes, providing one or two more courses in these subjects). Selection for such classes is done based on local tests. Assessing the students' performance is also different between primary and gymnasium cycles. Starting with the 5th grade, students have a different teacher (profesor) for each subject. Furthermore, each class has a teacher designated to be class principal (diriginte), besides teaching his or her usual subject. Additional counseling may be provided by a special counselor (consilier pe probleme de educaţie — counselor on educational issues) or by a school psychologist.

An 8th grade schedule may contain up to 30-32 hours weekly, or 6 hours daily, thus making it quite intensive, for instance

• 4 classes of math
• 4-5 classes of Romanian language
• 1 (2 in the 8th grade) class of history
• 2 (1 in the 7th grade) classes of geography
• 2 (1 in the 8th grade) class of biology
• 2 classes of introduction to computers
• 4 classes of a foreign language
• 2 classes of physics
• 2 classes of chemistry
• 1 class of Latin
• 1 class of art and music
• 1 class of religion (optional)
• 1 class of civic education
• 1 class of technology (may be optional).
• 2 classes of physical education

In addition schools may add 1 or 2 subjects at their free choice. This possibility gave rise to Intensive English Classes or Informatics Groups, accessible only by special exams in the 5th grade.

Curriculum in elementary schools

The Romanian curriculum is known as highly academic but rigid. There are up to 15 compulsory subjects (usually 8-13) and up to 5 optional subjects (usually 1 or 2). However, unlike in the United Kingdom or France, these optional subjects are chosen by the school and imposed on the student — they are known as School Decided Curriculum (Curriculum la Decizia Şcolii — CDŞ) and are usually extensions to the compulsory subjects.

For the duration of the elementary school, each student must take:

• 8 years of mathematics, Romanian, music, art and physical education
• up to 8 years of religion (any belief accepted, if a teacher cannot be provided in school, a certificate from any representative of the faith is accepted, if atheist or agnostic, another subject must be taken)
• 6 years of geography and history,
• 7 or 8 years in the first foreign language (usually English, French, or German)
• 3-4 years in the second foreign language (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian or Portuguese)
• 3 years of Civic education, physics and biology
• 2 years of Chemistry,
• 2 years of IT although in many places this subject can be optionally studied all the 8 years of elementary schools).

Types of Romanian high schools

 

Gheorghe Lazăr High School, Bucharest

There are five types of high schools in Romania allowing access to university, based on the type of education offered and their academic performance. All of these allow for a high school diploma, access to the Bacalaureat exam and therefore access to University studies. Unlike the Swedish or French systems, the choice of high school curriculum does not limit the choices for university. For example, a graduate of a Mathematics-Computer Programming (Real) Department of a National College may apply to a Language Department of a University without any problem. However, because of the subjects taught, the quality of education and the requirements for admission in universities, artificial barriers may appear: for example, a graduate of a Humane and Social Studies Department will find it very hard to apply for a Mathematics Department at a University because the admission exam for that university department requires knowledge of calculus, a subject not taught in Humanities and Social Studies. But there is no formal limitation: if that student manages to understand calculus, he or she is free to apply.

High school enrolment is conditioned on passing the National Test and participating in the National Computerized Repartition.

High school studies are four years in length, two compulsory (9th and 10th year), two non-compulsory (11th and 12th year). There are no exams between the 10th and the 11 years. There is also a lower frequency program taking 5 years for those wishing to attend high school after abandoning at an earlier age.

• National College (Colegiu Naţional) — the most prestigious high schools in Romania, most are each part of at least one international program such as Cervantes, SOCRATES, Eurolikes etc. All are "theoretical" (see below). Most are over 100 years old, and all have a very strong tradition in education. For example, Saint Sava National College in Bucharest is one of the oldest schools in Romania with almost three centuries of tradition; Gheorghe Lazăr High School (also in Bucharest) is 155 years old and, like Sf. Sava, founded before Romania itself; Colegiul German Goethe is 250 years old Other national colleges are Colegiul Naţional de Informatică Tudor Vianu Bucharest, Colegiul Naţional Iaşi, Colegiul Naţional Carol I Craiova, Colegiul Naţional "Elena Cuza" Craiova, Colegiul Naţional Mihai Eminescu Constanţa, Colegiul Naţional Vasile Alexandri Galaţi etc. The last admission average for these is over 8.70, but for the best national colleges an average result of 9.50 is not enough. Entering in one of these national colleges is usually a sure ticket for a good university scholarship.

• Military College (Colegiu Militar) — there are 3 high schools administered by the Romanian Army. They are considered extremely strict and legally they have the same regime as army units, being considered military installations with all students being members of the army and abiding army rules and regulations, including lights out at 10 o'clock. The Military Colleges are Colegiul Militar Liceal Mihai Viteazu in Alba Iulia, Colegiul Militar Liceal Ştefan cel Mare in Câmpulung Moldovenesc and Colegiul Militar Liceal Dimitrie Cantemir in Breaza.

 

• Economic College or Technical College (Colegiu Economic or Colegiu Tehnic) — A high school with very good results and with an academic program based on technical education or services (see below). An admission average of 8.00 is usually enough.

• Liceu (Standard High school) — An average high school, providing one of the available academic programs. The type of academic program offered is added after this designation (e.g. Liceul Teoretic Dimitrie Bolintineanu or Liceul Economic Ion Luca Caragiale)

• Grup Şcolar — A group of two schools — a high school (usually offering academic programmes in the field of technical or services education) and a Craft and Trade School. Some are regarded as being the worst alternative to allow access to a highschool diploma and access to university, while others are very well regarded as they give highly useful and well regarded diplomas and provide a rather high quality education (such as Grup Şcolar Economic Viilor Bucharest — training gastronomy specialists, protocol waiters etc. — and owning their own hotel, restaurant and pastry shop).

Each type of high-school is free to offer one or more academic programs (profile). These are:

Theoretical program

• Sciences — Profil Real ("mathematics and computer programming" or "earth studies") — this is the most demanding of all the academic programs, and the most sought-after as it offers the best chance for university admission, teaching as it does most of the subjects needed for admission. There are 15 different subjects per year, with 30-35 hours weekly : e.g. Latin is compulsory for a year, Math for 4 years (5-7 hours/week — Calculus, Trigonometry and Algebra), Computer Programming (4 hours weekly — 4 years), two modern languages, such as English for 2-6 hours/week and French for 2 hours/week, also 4 years, Literature 3 hours/week 4 years, Geography, History, Chemistry, Physics (all of these 4 years, 1-2 hours weekly each), Economics, Philosophy, Logic, Psychology (1 year each — 4 years) etc. This will give an "Assistant Computer Programmer" qualification. Besides being the hardest, this is the most common program, as it is the most sought after.

• Humanities — Profil Uman ("social studies" or "languages") — more modern languages (3 or 4), Latin or Ancient Greek, 4 years, two years of each of the studied social sciences, more history and geography than in the case of real studies, but almost no mathematics, chemistry, physics or biology. This program still demands over 30-35 hours weekly but will give no work qualification, with the exception of bilingual colleges, which offer a translator qualification.

 

Technical programs — Profil tehnic will give a qualification in a technical field such as electrician, industrial machine operator, train driver and mechanic etc. A lot of subjects are technically based (e.g. Calibration of Technical Measurement Machines, Locomotive Mechanics), with some math, physics and chemistry and almost no humanities.

 

Vocational programs — Profil vocaţional will give a qualification in a non-technical field, such as kindergarten educator, assistant architect, or pedagogue. A lot of subjects are based on humanities, with specifics based on qualification (such as Teaching) and almost no math, physics or chemistry. Art, music and design high schools are grouped here. High schools belonging to religious cults are also included. Usually, admission in these high schools is done by a special exam besides the National Tests in music or art.

Services and Economics programs — Profil economic will give a qualification in the fields of services, such as waiter, chef, tourism operator. Offering a quite balanced program, similar to the real studies in the theoretical program, but a bit lighter, and giving a valuable qualification, this program is very sought after (being second only to the real program).

The following high-schools forms does not allow entrance to universities:

• School of Crafts and Trades (Şcoalǎ de Arte şi Meserii) — a two year school providing a low qualification such as salesman or welder or builder. In case the student wants to continue to high school he or she must attend a special year between the 2nd year in the School of Crafts and Trades, and the 11th year in high school.

• Apprentice School — a two year school, almost integrally based on apprenticeship with a company, that usually also hires the graduates. Once highly popular, nowadays only a handful remains and will be almost completely phased out by 2009. There is no access to high school from this type of school.

Optional subjects are either imposed by schools on the students, or at best, students are allowed to choose a package of two or three subjects at group level (not individual level). Usually optional subjects provide additional hours of the hardest subjects, through "extensions" and "development classes". In addition, there are also a large number of specializations. A student can be, for example, enrolled in a National College, study a real program, specializing in mathematics-informatics.

 

Students' life in Romanian high schools

All the rules and regulations of elementary school apply here. Uniforms are a local issue, according with each school's policies. Few high schools have uniforms, and in case they do, these are only used on special occasions (such as festivities, conferences, sporting contests etc.). Many high schools have their own radio stations, monthly or biannual magazines etc.

Unlike the elementary school, there are no clear guidelines for marking. That means that typically grade averages are not comparable betweens schools or even between different teachers in the same school. The communication between students and teachers is still poor. Usually students have no decision power in the workings of their high school, most high schools do not even have a school council, with all the decisions being taken by one of the principals (Director). Usually, each high school has at least two principals.

 

 

 

The Baccalaureate exam

Main article: Romanian Baccalaureate

High school students graduating from a College, Liceu or Grup Şcolar must take the National Baccalaureate Exam (Examenul Naţional de Bacalaureat — colloquially known as the bac). Despite the similarity in name with the French word Baccalauréat, there are few similarities. The Bacalaureat comprises 2 or 3 oral examinations and 4 or 5 written examinations, usually spanning on the course of one and a half weeks in late June and September. It is a highly centralized, national exam. Usually the exam papers are taken to a centralized marking facility, sometimes even in another city, under police guard (for example in 2001 all the exams from Braşov were sent to Brăila for marking). The exam supervisors (always high school teachers or university professors) cannot teach in, or otherwise be related to, the high school they are sent to supervise. Starting with 2007, the ministry drafts 100 different sets of subjects for each exam, and makes them available 6 months in advance through both the official web site [4] and via booklets available free of charge. The solutions to each of the sets are also made public by the ministry.

 

The 6 exams are :

 

• Exam A/1 (Proba A/1) — Romanian Language and Literature (Oral Examination) — The candidate draws a literature subject at random and a text comprehension subject, also at random. The candidate has 15 minutes "thinking time" and 10 minutes to answer the questions in front of three persons. The exam is public.
• Exam C/1 (Proba C/1) — The language of study in a school where the teaching is done in a language other than Romanian (usually the language of an ethnic group) — organized exactly like Exam A/1. C/1 is taken only by those taught in another language than Romanian.
• Exam B (Proba B) — A foreign language (Oral Examination) — The candidate is allowed to choose from English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The choice must be done upon registration for the exam (usually in May) and cannot be changed. The candidate draws one subject with two questions (reading comprehension and speaking) at random, and has 15 minutes thinking time to construct his answers and 10 minutes to answer.
• Exam A/2 (Proba A/2) — Romanian Language and Literature (Written Examination) — Usually an essay upon a literature theme (such as "Show the features of the modern twentieth century novel with examples on a studied work") and a text with 10-20 questions based on the text (such as "Find a metaphor and an oxymoron in the text" or "Comment the following passage in ten lines or less"). Half an hour before the start of the exam, the Minister Of Education draws the correct variant on TV, with sealed envelopes containing 20 or 25 exam papers being delivered to the exam rooms and opened in front of the students. According to law, each student must receive an exam paper, writing the subjects on the board being no longer allowed. Exam C was 2 hours long in 2005, 2004 and 2003 and 3 hours long in 2002.

 

• Exam C/2 (Proba C/2) — The language of study in a school where the teaching is done in a language other than Romanian (usually the language of an ethnic group) — written examination — organized exactly like Exam A/2.

 

• Exam D (Proba D) — Compulsory subject depending on the academic program followed in high school (Written Examination) — This translates to math for those finishing a real studies, technical or services program or for a choice between Romanian History and Geography for a humane studies or vocational program. However, the difficulty of the exam varies between the academic program followed in high school (e.g. a candidate that was enrolled in a real studies program in high school will receive a Mathematics 1 subject — the hardest math subjects, including algebra, simple calculus, trigonometry and geometry, while a former services student will receive a Mathematics 2 subject — a simpler subject, featuring only algebra and simple calculus). 15% of the exam is "multiple choice", 15% "fill in the gaps", the rest requiring detailed explanations and proof. Unlike in western exams, calculators, slide rules or any other assistance is forbidden. Exam D is 3 hours long.

 

• Exam E (Proba E) — Subject at the choice of the candidate from the domains considered as the main part of the Academic Program followed in high school (Written Examination) — This gives the student more choice depending on the academic program completed. For example, a real studies student may choose from Physics, Computer Programming, Chemistry and Biology, a technical student/railway mechanic may choose Physics, Mechanical Instruments and Machines, Technical Instruments and Measures or Railway Maintenance while a human studies/languages may choose from Latin or a different language than the one in Exam B. The same rules apply as in the case of Exam D, with one exception — students choosing Basic Accounting (Services Program) may use an account sheet describing the function of each account.

 

 

• Exam F (Proba F) — Subject at the choice of the candidate from a lesser domain of the academic program followed in high school (Written or Practical Examination) — This gives even more choice, with a student from real studies being able to choose from up to 20 subjects, from Philosophy to Physical Education while a student in humane studies/social sciences is free to choose from Math to Biology and, of course, Physical Education (over 50% of all candidates take this subject, as it is not written, usually takes under half an hour, requires no learning and it is nearly impossible to fail). However, the choices must be made from subjects the candidate was taught in high school.

 

 

 

Except for the languages exams, the subjects are provided in any language desired by the candidate (demands can be made "on the spot" for a number of languages — Hungarian, German and Romanian subjects are available in all high schools nationwide, with other languages in areas where the respective language is spoken, while for other languages the request must be filed alongside the registration form, two months in advance). Braille can also be provided.

Each exam (Proba) is marked from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, using two decimals for written exams (e.g. 9.44 or 9.14 is a valid mark) and an integer for an oral exam. Each exam is corrected and graded by two separate correctors (no computers are involved, as this is not a standardized test) agreeing on the mark based on a nationwide guideline. The total mark for the Bacalaureat is the arithmetic mean average of the six or eight marks obtained (0.01 precision). To pass, a student must obtain an average score of at least 6.00 and at least 5.00 at each of the individual exams. A student scoring a perfect 10 will be warded with special honors (Absolvent cu Merite Deosebite). In July 2005, 78 candidates out of a total 179878 scored a perfect 10 (0.04%) while 149435 (83.07%) students passed the Bacalaureat. In case of failure (respins), the student is allowed to retake only the exams he failed, until he manages to graduate but no more than 5 times. A September session is held especially for those failing in the June/July session or for those unable to attend the exam in the summer. In case a student is not content with the mark received, one may contest it in 24 hours after finding his or her score. If passed, unlike the case with most high school completion exams, he or she may not retake it (although this matters less in Romania than in the United States or Germany.

The Baccalaureate is a requirement when enrolling in an university, because, technically, without passing it, the student is not a high school graduate, but, usually it counts for almost nothing in the admission scores (in most universities, 0-20% is the norm). In the best possible situation, it makes up half of the total university admission score, but only in the most undesired departments of the small, backwater universities. Given the extremely atypical Romanian university admission system (usually another exam making up for the rest of the process), these percentages mean even less. Because of the perceived lack of importance, and because of the above average difficulty of the exam, many supervisors are very tolerant to misdemeanors such as talking during the exam, and, there have been some cases when supervisors allow students to swap sheets of paper with answers to questions between themselves. Bribing is also common, in the form of protocol, a sum of money (around 100-300 lei) paid by each student, months before, either to a fellow student, or even a teacher (the protocol treasurer) in order to smooth the exam organizers. Each year, major newspapers such as Evenimentul Zilei,^[6] România Liberă or Jurnalul Naţional report on and publish lists of high schools with the value of the protocols. Of course, both the officials and the students deny such findings, but this habit is so accustomed, that from time to time even the education ministry admits it is a phenomenon.^{[citation needed]}

 

 

 

 

 

 

Higher education

Main article: List of universities in Romania

 

Babeş-Bolyai University

In any country higher education is the moment of truth for the entire society. With many pressures from technical developments, a deficiency in designing higher education is a very costly endeavor paid by a country. The qualified job market suffers directly and one of the numerous direct consequences will be the decreasing number and quality of teachers and professors involved in the educational system. Unfortunately, this is the case in Romania, where the educational system still has many gaps, in contrast to the well established national educational systems in the US, Canada or Western European countries.

The first modern Romanian universities are:

• University of Iaşi (1860)
• University of Bucharest (1864)
• Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj (1872)

In Romania, after 1990, the universities were the first type of institutions that started the reforms for democratization of education. They achieved autonomy, an impossible goal during the socialist regime. Students had been a very active social category participating in the social protests in the years 1956, 1968 and 1989. After 1990, they formed a very radical offensive campaign aimed against communist politicians. The University Square movement began when, around the University of Bucharest, these students proclaimed a ‘communist free zone’, installed tents around the area and protested for over 40 days demanding that communist statesmen be dismissed from public functions. Additionally, they demanded the autonomy of mass-media. However, Romanian students’ movements were a model for other neighboring countries. For instance, Bulgarian students made an alliance with union syndicates and protested through marathon demonstrations and strikes. The difference in that case was that their union syndicates were strong allies of students. Also, their movement was less radical but more powerful and realistic. In this case, they succeeded to dismiss some communist leaders. In Ukraine, the social movements from the end of 2004 against electoral frauds had the same structure. Universities have full autonomy, in stark contrast from the pre-university segment. Each university is free to decide everything from their management to the organization of classes. Furthermore, many universities devolve this autonomy further down, to each department. Thus, there are huge differences between universities and even between individual departments inside a university.

    Admission

The admission process is left to the Universities, and, as of 2007, there is no integrated admission scheme. Most universities will give an "admission exam" in a high-school subject that corresponds best to the training offered by the university. Some, however, due to the lack of relevance of the system have begun implementing a different scheme, based on essays, interviews and performance assessments. This was done because in most cases tests, especially multiple choice ones, offered just a superficial assessment and a limited outlook of the students' actual performance.

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