as been made in the educational field since the
end of World War II. An intensive campaign to eradicate illiteracy was
undertaken and, according to the government, was successfully concluded
by 1958. The number of schools was significantly increased, as were
student enrollments throughout the system, although in 1972 the number
of students continuing their education beyond the primary level was
still proportionately low. The growth of the school structure was
further indicated by the successive extension of the period of
compulsory education from four years in 1948 to ten in 1968. Full
enrollment under the ten-year program, however, was not expected to be
achieved before 1973.

To meet the demands for skilled and semiskilled industrial and
agricultural workers, the educational system was gradually transformed,
heavy emphasis being placed on scientific and technical programs and on
vocational training. The most recent reforms, promulgated in 1968, not
only reinforced education to meet national economic requirements but
also placed renewed stress on the need for increased ideological and
political training of the country's youth as a prime element in the
successful development of the Romanian socialist state.

Despite the progress achieved in producing a disciplined work force,
which benefits the country's economic development, the educational
system continued to show basic limitations and shortcomings.
Overspecialization and excessive student workloads served to limit the
effectiveness and efficiency of secondary and higher schools.
Furthermore, the constant effort to expand the mass base of the system,
although achieving uniform and satisfactory results by communist
standards, lowered the quality of education and sacrificed individual
creativity.

BACKGROUND

The educational history of Romania has followed closely the political
development of the country. The earliest educational institutions were
established in the principalities of Walachia and Moldavia during the
sixteenth century and served as the basis of the first system of public
education, which became operative in 1832. The unification of the
principalities in 1859 led to the adoption of the Educational Act of
1864, which established the principle of free and compulsory education,
"where schools were available," under state supervision. Despite the
legal provisions for an adequate school system, however, administrative
and financial limitations kept the