BAROMETRUL Informat.ro - INSCOP Research - How Romanians perceive education at the beginning of the school year | 59.3% of Romanians believe that the start of the new school year in Romania is an important moment for the entire society

Chapter 2: How Romanians Perceive Education at the Beginning of the School Year

At the beginning of the school year, Romanians who consider the costs of school supplies and uniforms to be the main problem are practically as numerous as those who complain about the level of teacher training or the lack of school infrastructure. This is just one of the conclusions of BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research, edition III, conducted between September 1 - 9, 2025.

BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research is a monthly opinion poll conducted by INSCOP Research on behalf of the news platform Informat.ro in partnership with the Strategic Thinking Group think tank.

BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research aims to bring to public attention topics of interest to stimulate national conversations about various subjects and essential public policies for the present and future of Romania, based on the opinions of Romanians in partnership with think tanks and prestigious academic institutions. It is an initiative through which we aim to contribute to the strengthening of democracy by using scientific and credible tools that bring the voice of citizens to the forefront of public debate.

Methodology: Data was collected between September 1-9, 2025. Research method: interview via questionnaire. Data was collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews), with a simple stratified sample volume of 1103 people, representative of significant socio-demographic categories (gender, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 and over. The maximum allowable error of the data is ± 2.95%, at a confidence level of 95%.

Graphical presentation of the data is available here: BAROMETER Informat.ro - INSCOP Research - How Romanians Perceive Education at the Beginning of the School Year

Remus Ștefureac – director INSCOP Research: "The majority of Romanians (59.3%) consider the beginning of the school year an important moment for society as a whole, which shows that education remains a central concern at the national level. The main difficulty perceived at the beginning of the school year is financial – 40.4% of Romanians report high costs for school supplies and uniforms, suggesting a direct economic pressure on families. Other frequently mentioned problems include the level of teacher training (21.5%), reported with significantly higher intensity by young people aged 18-29, the social group with the most recent direct contact with school, and who are dissatisfied with teacher training at a rate of 35%. Another 21% of respondents from the total population are dissatisfied with the lack of adequate school infrastructure, indicating structural deficiencies that affect the quality of education in the long term."

How Romanians Perceive Education at the Beginning of the School Year

59.3% of Romanians believe that the beginning of the new school year in Romania is an important moment for society as a whole, 16.2% that it is a relevant event only for students and teachers, and 9.8% declare that the moment is not particularly important for them. 9.6% of those surveyed say it has more symbolic significance, while 5.2% do not know or do not respond.

I believe that the beginning of the new school year in Romania is an important moment for society as a whole, especially: residents of small urban areas and public sector employees.

People with higher education and private sector employees consider, in a higher proportion than the rest of the population, that the beginning of the new school year is a relevant event only for students and teachers.

I think that the beginning of the new school year has more symbolic significance, especially among USR voters, young people under 30, and residents of large urban areas.

They say that the moment is not particularly important for them, especially young people under 30 and residents of Bucharest.

Among those who believe that the main difficulties at the beginning of the school year are, 40.4% mention high costs for school supplies and uniforms, 21.5% the level of teacher training, 21% the lack of adequate school infrastructure, 11.6% the emotions and stress of students, and 1.4% indicate something else. 4% do not know or do not respond.

High costs for school supplies and uniforms represent the main difficulties at the beginning of the school year, especially for PSD and AUR voters, women, and people with primary education.

The level of teacher training is mentioned mainly by: USR voters and people over 60, those with higher education, residents of Bucharest or large urban areas.

I believe that the main difficulties at the beginning of the school year concern the lack of adequate school infrastructure, especially among PNL voters, men, people aged between 30 and 44, those with higher education, and residents of Bucharest.

Young people under 30 most frequently mention the emotions and stress of students as the main problem at the beginning of the school year.