The Third Workshop on Higher Education Reforms – Approaches to Student Loans

Contact: Raluca Banioti
Phone (40-21) 2010339
rbanioti@worldbank.org

Bucharest, May 28, 2008 – A third workshop on “Higher Education Reforms - Approaches to Student Loans” was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth (MERY) and the World Bank at the Central Academic Library in Bucharest. 
 
Opening remarks were made by Mr. Remus Pricopie, Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Research and Youth (MERY), who reiterated the intention of the MERY to set up an Agency for Student Loans and provided the audience with a brief description of the support provided by the World Bank to the MERY in approaching the topic of student loan schemes, including the preparation of a discussion paper on student loans. Mr. Benoit Blarel, World Bank Country Manager for Romania, highlighted the Bank’s experience with student loans in other countries confirming that a well-designed student loan program could be an important policy instrument in achieving a range of different objectives of the higher education system. Mr. Blarel expressed the hope that the discussion paper currently being finalized by the Bank specialists would contribute to the policy planning that the Government may undertake in order to devise a student loan program in Romania.

Mr. Jan Sadlak, Director UNESCO/CEPES, added remarks on student loans from an international perspective, stressing the importance of other counties experience. Ms. Ecaterina Andronescu, President of the National Council of Rectors, concluded this  series of interventions by thanking the Bank for its support and positive role in education reforms and development in Romania; Ms. Andronescu highlighted  the need to use a student loan program as a tool for addressing financial constraints faced by students who need to work to the detriment of the time allocated to their studies; the audience was assured of the support of the Council of Rectors for this initiative.

Workshop participants included representatives of universities, students, Ministry of Economy and Finance, National Council for Higher Education Financing, National Bank of Romania, Romanian American Education Foundation, other institutions.

This third workshop was an occasion to continue the discussions initiated under the previous two workshops jointly organized by the MERY and the Bank on this important topic in the context of the discussion paper currently being prepared by the World Bank experts; the paper is aimed at articulating and clarifying the aims of a student loan program and at examining the policy options that would meet these aims.

The workshop hosted a detailed presentation of the draft discussion paper. The session began with a discussion of the challenges to higher education, including low attendance, especially from rural areas, rising costs of higher education, low government spending on higher education compared to OECD and other EU member countries. The presentation also included a number of different possible student loan schemes which the World Bank team had prepared to illustrate the likely fiscal costs of such schemes. The presentation was followed by a lively session of questions and answers. The Bank team will use the feedback obtained during these discussions to revise the discussion paper which is expected to be finalized by June 30, 2008.