e secondary school structure
to accommodate the changeover from eight to ten years of compulsory
education, as provided in the 1968 educational law, had not yet been
completed. Although the extension of the program through the tenth grade
began with the 1969/70 school year, shortages in funds, educational
personnel, and facilities needed for higher student enrollment still
existed and were not expected to be overcome until 1973. Secondary
schools of all types numbered about 800 in 1970 and had an enrollment of
about 370,000 students, roughly one-quarter of those of secondary school
age.

General education secondary schools were of the college preparatory
type, offered a four-year program, and had the most rigid entrance
requirements. Students could select a course either in the humanities or
in the natural sciences. The humanities course included such subjects as
the Romanian language, a modern language, Latin, history, psychology and
logic, and the history of literature. The science course covered
mathematics through advanced algebra and probability theory, astronomy,
physics, chemistry, biology, and economic and political geography.
Physical education and art were included in both courses, as was a
subject called sociopolitical science, which covered elements of
political economy, "scientific" socialism, and the history of the
Communist Party and the labor movement in Romania.

After satisfactory completion of either course of study, all students
were required to take the state baccalaureate examination, which
qualified them for admission to higher schools or for district
employment in middle-level positions in government or in industry. The
number of entrants to schools of higher education was determined by the
Ministry of Education each year in the light of the needs of the various
sectors of the economy and of cultural life. Since the number of
applicants usually exceeded the number of spaces allocated to each
higher institution, competitive examinations were held, and candidates
were selected on the basis of marks received and their general political
attitude. Those who either failed the entrance examination--that is, did
not receive marks sufficiently high to qualify for a university or
polytechnical institute--or were considered politically apathetic were
usually placed in short-term vocational courses to qualify them for
employment as technicians.

Specialized secondary education was conducted in schools for