COMPULSORY EDUCATION IN ROMANIA BETWEEN EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY

The paper aims at investigating the two main characteristics of a modern system of compulsory education with a focus on Romania. It assumes that the equity of the education sector and the efficiency of resource use are strongly correlated, both supporting the development of a knowledge- based society. The trade-off between equity and efficiency persists in the Romanian educational sector, since the opportunity cost of increased budgetary allotment for education is high for an developing country such as Romania; on the one hand, the efficiency of these allotments are very important for the economic growth, on the other hand, the government’s compensatory actions to increase equity and equal opportunities are equally important