European funds are now available to address these issues through the National Recovery and Resilience Program, but there is also a need for interest from the school management and local authorities.

246 projects have been submitted for a program aimed at building and developing a pilot network of green schools. In total, €225 million are allocated, excluding VAT.

Using these funds, schools can be upgraded to enhance energy efficiency and there's also the potential to build entirely new ones. Within the Ghiroda commune, situated in Timiș county, there is a school lacking the capacity to accommodate all the children from the region.

The local administration has accessed funds for the construction of a modern school. The over one thousand students who will study there will have laboratories and workshops, a music room, a library and a dental office.

Laura Popan, Public administrator of Ghiroda City Hall: "It's a very ambitious project, with a total value just over 85 million lei. The funding request we submitted to the PNRR is for 40 million lei, with the rest to be covered from the local budget".

Through another program, also under the PNRR, the first funding contracts were signed recently for equipping schools in Romania with digital equipment and furniture. 5,600 schools, children's clubs and educational resource centers will benefit from over €1 billion. Two district city halls in Bucharest have accessed funds through this program. The one from District 5 received funding of 48 million lei, while the other one from District 2 received 57 million.

Radu Mihaiu, Mayor of District 2: "IT equipment, furniture, smart boards. We are in the process of purchasing this equipment, the reimbursement will probably come next year, in the meantime, we make the purchase from the local budget. We have accessed several programs through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Some of these programs are focused on the development of buildings and the installation of photovoltaic panels, while others are directed towards the modernization of buildings. We have also taken advantage of these latter programs. In this regard, we have over 60 million lei that we won last year, we have already submitted reimbursement requests".

Currently, in Romania, several programs are launched at various stages to improve conditions in schools with funds allocated through PNRR. Certain initiatives aim to provide electric minibuses for transportation, while others focus on establishing intelligent laboratories. Additionally, there is a nationwide program dedicated to decreasing the rate of students dropping out of school.

PNRR Implementation Officer, Ministry of Education: "This year, the largest investment is on equipment. The signing of another call will begin, specifically for laboratories, followed by the signing of 1120 projects for allocation to high schools across the country. The assessment of the proposed minibuses projects has been recently concluded. We were granted an allocation of €250 million, with a ceiling of €6 million for each county. The beneficiaries are the county councils, there are available prospects and resources".

This year, the Ministry of Education launched 7 programs for the modernization of schools using European funds.