Survey:75 pct of Romanians are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the education system

   Three-quarters of Romanians (75%) say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the country's education system, according to a national survey conducted in August by FlashData.When asked about their level of satisfaction with Romania's education system, 43% said they were dissatisfied, 32% very dissatisfied, 19% satisfied, 4% very satisfied, and 2% did not know or did not answer.A majority (67%) believe recent reforms have had a negative impact on education, 61% oppose increasing teachers' workloads, 57% would support a general teachers' strike this autumn, and 46% believe schools functioned better during the communist era.As for the main problems facing education, respondents cited unclear or incoherent reforms (29%), politicisation (23%), underfunding (19%), outdated curricula (10%), lack of qualified staff (8%), low teacher salaries (4%), excessive bureaucracy (4%), and poor infrastructure (1%).When asked how recent reforms impact the quality of education, 49% of respondents said they have a very negative impact, 18% a negative impact, 18% a positive impact, 6% a very positive impact, while 9% did not know or did not answer.When asked whether they agree with increasing teachers' workloads, 61% said no, 34% said yes, and 5% did not know or did not answer.When asked whether the education sector has been disproportionately affected by austerity measures, 63% of respondents answered 'yes,' 28% 'no,' and 9% did not know or did not answer.The survey data further shows that 57% of Romanians would support a general teachers' strike in autumn 2025, while 37% would oppose it and 6% were undecided.The most competent Education Minister between 1990 and 2025 was named as Mircea Miclea (26%), followed by Daniel Funeriu (17%), Ecaterina Andronescu (15%), Mihai Sora (11%), Daniel David (7%), Mircea Dumitru (3%) and Remus Pricopie (1%); 20% did not express an opinion.Regarding the prospects for a modern, high-performing education system in the next decade, 58% believe this is possible only with real reforms and adequate funding, 34% say it will not happen, 5% are optimistic, and 3% are undecided.Asked when Romania's schools functioned best, 46% pointed to the communist period, 29% said 'never truly,' 13% cited 2000-2010, and 5% chose the present; 7% did not answer.On the current state of education, 59% believe it produces generations without reference points or prospects, 24% say it creates a small elite and a large excluded majority, 11% think it yields obedient and poorly qualified employees, and 2% consider it produces future-ready specialists; 4% did not answer.As for the relevance of the high school graduation average, 30% see it as very relevant, 27% as not relevant at all, 25% as slightly relevant, and 17% say it depends on social and family context; 1% did not answer.Regarding Romania's PISA test results, 35% deem them unimportant, 33% important, 21% extremely important, while 6% say they do not know what the tests are or are not interested; 5% did not answer.If given unlimited resources, 56% would choose a traditional public high school, 20% a school abroad, 18% an international private high school, and 6% were undecided.On whether private schools offer better education than public schools, 43% said it depends on the quality of teachers and leadership, 40% said 'no,' 13% 'yes,' and 4% were undecided.Formal education is seen as very important for success in life by 53% of respondents, important by 39%, not very important by 6%, and not important at all by 1%; 1% did not answer.The survey was conducted between August 11-13 using the CAWI method (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing), with an initial pool of 7,500 questionnaires collected through multi-site distribution and socio-demographic targeting. After data cleaning, including deduplication, control questions, and minimum completion time, the final sample was 1,200 respondents. The theoretical margin of error is ?2.8% at a 95% confidence level.