Evolution of higher education in Romania during the transition period

The transition from central planning to market economy led to significant changes in the Romanian higher education system. In a relatively short period there has been an impressive growth in the number of students, the first private universities were founded and now they represent almost half of the academic market in Romania. Our study emphasizes a number of characteristics of higher education development in Romania such as a weak correlation between the number of students and the evolution of demographic phenomena (in this time period there was a significant drop in birth rates and migration has resulted in a reduction of the population), and the evolution of enrolments in high schools. In a medium and long period of time, the growth in the number of students, both in public and private education institutions cannot be sustained. The data we used in this study are data series recorded at the National Institute of Statistics. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.