Bolojan meets with university rectors to discuss education and research budget

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan met with university rectors on Tuesday to discuss the education and research budget for 2026.

Discussions focused on the construction of the budget and the participation of higher education in the effort to reduce public spending.

According to a government press release, the prime minister said that the proposals in the draft law on administrative measures, which also cover higher education and research, are intended to continue reducing budgetary expenditure in the context of the need to reduce the budget deficit.

Representatives of the National Council of Rectors expressed their willingness to participate in the effort to reduce budgetary expenditure and stated that they had already made significant cuts during 2025, by increasing teaching hours and implicitly reducing a considerable number of teaching positions, by lowering hourly rates and other specific measures.

The rectors requested that the optimization of expenditures be carried out in a flexible manner and adapted to the realities of the system, in accordance with the principles of university autonomy and the legislation in force.

The status of projects financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, currently being implemented at the level of higher education institutions, was also discussed.

At the suggestion of Ilie Bolojan, consultations on the financing of the higher education system will continue through the establishment of a working group at the Ministry of Education and Research, with the participation of representatives of the National Council of Rectors, with a view to preparing the budget for 2026.

„The education system is the backbone of the country’s development. We need to make savings, but we must allow this important area for Romania to develop in the coming years,” said Prime Minister Bolojan.

The head of the executive also added that other aspects related to improving the quality of education, better correlation with economic realities, the development of applied research projects, and the introduction of a traceability system showing which professional fields higher education graduates pursue in relation to their field of study must also be analyzed.