cent of all eligible children attended public
kindergartens and that fewer than 1.5 percent were enrolled in private
ones.

The seven-year elementary school system, four years of which were
theoretically compulsory, comprised two types of institutions for
children between the ages of seven and fourteen: four-year schools for
pupils preparing for secondary schools and seven-year schools for
students terminating their education at the elementary level. Elementary
education was free except in private schools and, although attendance
was supposedly mandatory, enrollments before 1940 averaged less than 75
percent of all children of elementary school age.

Curricular requirements were demanding at this level, particularly in
the four-year primary schools. All students studied the Romanian
language, literature, history, geography, and natural sciences, in
addition to participating in physical education classes and handicraft
programs. In the seven-year schools the curriculum during the last three
years also included a variety of vocational subjects.

Four types of educational institutions made up the secondary school
system: lyceums, primarily preparatory schools for universities; teacher
training schools; theological schools; and trade schools. Most of these
institutions were public, and each type offered an eight-year course
with varying degrees of specialization. Attendance was generally limited
to children of the landed aristocracy and the urban upper class. All
subjects, even those of a vocational nature, were taught on a
theoretical basis. The general curricula in the lyceums included the
Romanian language, history, literature, the physical sciences,
mathematics, and music. Before being accepted in a university, all
graduates of lyceums were required to have passed the baccalaureate, a
special comprehensive examination given after all graduation
requirements had been met.

The theological schools, also state supported, trained priests in the
different faiths; the teacher training schools trained kindergarten and
elementary school teachers; and the trade schools prepared students for
work in business and commercial concerns. No qualifying examinations
were given to graduates of theological, teacher training, or trade
schools, since none were eligible for admission to higher level schools.
Enrollment throughout the secondary schools was also low; statistics
show that over the 1928-39 period less than 6 percent of the t