From 1990 until 2017 the number of students in the Romanian public education dropped by 39%, from 4,1 million to 2,5 million. But in the case of Hungarian-speaking students the drop is a bit more moderate, it decreased with 35%, from 188 000 to 120 000 students, Hungarian language statistical site Erdélystat reports. And this is not the only positive aspect of the report for Hungarians: in parallel with the significant reduction in numbers, the proportion of students learning in Hungarian language was growing in the mentioned time period.
The proportion of students enrolled in Hungarian classes, after a low of 4,6% in 1996, was constantly growing till 2010. Since then the proportion of students learning in Hungarian is varying between 5,1-5,2%, not reaching the proportion of Hungarians in the whole Romanian population, which is approximately 6%.
In order to determine the school enrollment ratio, Erdélystat compared educational statistics to the single-year age data of the census of population. The comparison showed that the ratio of children’s in Hungarian kindergarten groups has always exceeded the Hungarian proportion of the relevant age group.
In the case of elementary and grade-school (the first 8 classes in the Romanian educational system), the proportion of students learning in Hungarian is lower than the ethnic and language ratio. After a low rate in 1996, followed by a stagnation period, the proportion was constantly growing between till 2013, reaching 5,5%. In 2014 it dropped by 0,1%, and since then the proportion is stable, with its 5,4%.
The proportion of students learning in Hungarian is the lowest in the case of high schools (the last 4 year in the Romanian educational system). In 1991 only 38% of Hungarian students were learning in Hungarian, while the national enrollment rate reached 74%. In the last 28 years the enrollment rate in this age group grew, but it is still really low.
According to the latest available educational statistics from the 2016-2017 school year, the proportion of Hungarians in education reached 5,2%, which is equal with the number and proportion of students learning in Hungarian. But the rate of students learning in Hungarians shows significant differences for each educational level. In the case of kindergarten and elementary school, a significant number of students learning in Hungarian are not ethnic Hungarians, but in the case of high school it is reverse.
Images: www.erdelystat.ro
