Romania's STEM education efforts: The highs and the challenges to overcome

An EU-level STEM education plan, a key part of the EU's Union of Skills initiative launched this March, sets out measures to reverse the trend of declining STEM performance at school and to encourage more students to study STEM subjects and take up related careers. How does Romania measure up in this area? What challenges does it face, and where is there room for improvement? Recent reports offer a nuanced snapshot.

With its STEM Education Strategic Plan, EU has set targets for 2030 include having 45% of students enrolled in STEM fields in initial medium-level vocational education and training (VET), where 1 out of every 4 students is female; 32% of students enrolled in STEM fields at tertiary level, where 2 out of every five students are female; and 5% of students enrolled in ICT PhD programs, where 1 out of every three students is female.