Popa (BNR) Romania: The lowest share of tertiary graduates in the EU, 25-34 years old, 23

  Romania has the lowest share of tertiary graduates in the EU in the sector 25 -34 years old, 23% much under the Union average, 44%, says Cristian Popa, member of the BNR board, in a post on LinkediIn.'Schools are reopening. Over all the excitement and celebrations, the education figures remain worrying: for example, in the 25-34 age group, Romania has the lowest share of university graduates in the EU (23%), well below the EU average of 44%. In other words, only 1 in 4 young people is a higher education graduate. At the opposite pole, in Ireland, almost 2 out of 3 have a higher education (it also benefits from a particular economic context including a favorable tax regime, which attracts technology companies and therefore many graduates). In contrast, many young people trained in Romania choose to work in other European countries, perhaps even in Ireland. The diaspora may partly explain the low percentage, along with lower participation in higher education and school drop-out rates', stressed Cristian Popa. According to him, the issue starts even earlier. A large part of the population in the rural environment has limited possibilities to benefit from education. Approximately 42% of the Romanian students do not understand what they read, almost 49% cannot make mathematical connections and 44% do not understand the scientific background of familiar phenomena. Cristian Popa mentions that the source comes from the PISA tests of 2022 where we were the last but one in the EU. In this context, he states that it is hard to compete against Ireland with such figures in the CV.'And before we 'judge' the 25-34 generation, it's worth looking at my generation, 25-64, which is a large part of the workforce. If 1 in 4 seemed small, here things are even worse: only 1 in 5 have a higher education. There are always three ingredients in the growth equation: people, capital, technology. So increasing the share of higher education helps, but is not enough. Capital and technology weigh heavily, and a better educated workforce capitalizes on these investments. In addition, the demand for skills in the EU is shifting rapidly towards high value-added occupations. Tertiary education fuels innovation, productivity and growth. There is a clear correlation between education and earnings, but a degree alone does not guarantee high earnings or competitiveness', writes Cristian Popa. He mentions that he would like us to be like Ireland. But Germany, as well, for example, has a share of tertiary education under the EU average, but they excel at productivity, capital, exports and salaries.'That's why I always say: capital flows where it's best received, and if it comes, we'll be better off too. More focus on results and more competition could raise overall wellbeing. If we look only at the percentage of degrees as an end in itself, we risk 'degree inflation', not of brain cells and knowledge, and mismatches in the labor market. Beyond diplomas, school has a crucial role to play in shaping critical thinking: in a world of misinformation and hybrid online warfare, the ability to understand concepts, to question and to discern truth from falsehood matters enormously. When it comes to manipulation, the least educated will be the easiest to manipulate. Only a solid education gives you antibodies against manipulation', Cristian Popa added.