Education Ministry puts draft on Romanian language preparatory year for foreign citizens in consultation

The Romanian language preparatory year is organised and operates in accredited higher education institutions, following the accreditation evaluation carried out by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS), on the basis of its own framework methodology on the organisation and conduct of the preparatory year of Romanian language for foreign citizens, according to a draft the Education Ministry put out for consultation.According to the draft, the evaluation fee for the Romanian language preparatory year programme is established by decision of the Executive Board of the ARACIS Council."The Romanian language preparatory year is a study programme lasting a minimum of 28 weeks of teaching activities (60 ECTS credits), which ends with an examination to assess Romanian language skills for the minimum B1 level, defined according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages," the draft provides.The following are eligible for admission to the Romanian language preparatory year study programme: citizens of the member states of the European Union, citizens of countries belonging to the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation, as well as British citizens and their family members, as beneficiaries of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union, citizens of third countries, Romanians living abroad."The Ministry of Education can finance a number of study places in the Romanian language preparatory year programme, organised by state higher education institutions, for scholarship holders and Romanians from abroad. The level of funding is equivalent to the socio-human area, undergraduate studies. For candidates from third countries, the Ministry of Education will issue letters of acceptance to study, at the proposal of the organising higher education institution, within the tuition capacity approved by ARACIS and in accordance with the legal provisions," the draft also provides.According to the source, for scholarship holders and Romanians abroad, the Education Ministry will allocate annually, after consultation with the state higher education institution, a number of places / study grants funded from the state budget.Furthermore, for the citizens of the member states of the European Union, of the countries belonging to the European Economic Area and of the Swiss Confederation, as well as for British citizens and their family members, as beneficiaries of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union, the certificate of equivalence of studies will be issued by the National Centre for the Recognition and Equivalence of Diplomas, in accordance with the legal provisions."The persons declared admitted and confirmed as being enrolled in the study programme are registered in the Single Romanian Register of Diplomas and Study Documents (...) The examination for the completion of the preparatory year is organised by the higher education institutions, in accordance with their own regulations, approved by the senate of the organising institution," the draft mentions.The institutions organising the preparatory year in Romanian language shall issue to the graduates who have passed the final exam a graduation certificate, in accordance with the rules in force, on the basis of which they can enroll in university study programmes.