Funding the Educational System and the Quality of the Public Educational Services in Romania - A Literature Review

Abstract

Both among the specialists and the general public, the topic of funding education causes new controversies and bring about new promises every year. Nevertheless, no “miraculous” formula has actually been found so that it should be satisfactory to all parties involved, given the high stake – the future of Romania. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of funding education and to show the relationship between funding the system and the quality of the education. An analysis of how education is financed at the level of the European Union, on the one side, and an analysis of how our own system is financed, on the other side, lead to the conclusion that high quality education does not necessarily and solely lead to reaching the (targeted) percentage of the gross domestic product, as a funding-related desideratum; in terms of funding the system, the quality of the education is a consequence of a suitable distribution of the financial resources, in line with the needs identified. The state has to identify an appropriate way to invest in education so that the investment should be productive and generate added value in society, through the persons trained.

Keywords

• education
• national government education expenditure
• local government expenditure
• public school
• education quality
• budget