On Friday, the government wants to regulate the form of dual higher education with an emergency decree, according to which accredited universities will be able to enter into partnership agreements with companies in which the latter can provide on-the-job training and participate in evaluation. The companies in question will have conditions for paying fees and taxes.

The government has on the agenda of the meeting on Friday a draft emergency resolution, with which it wants to implement a number of reforms in the field of early education and higher education, reforms foreseen in the PNRR.

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Expected changes – Hundreds of children’s schools in settlements where there are not enough nurseries

The project envisages that additional early education services, such as a toy library, playgroup, public kindergarten, can be created in settlements where there are not enough nurseries and kindergartens, which will be able to function as structures of educational units. The Ministry of Education initiates the Government’s decision on the organization and provision of additional early education services.

It is assumed that 412 additional early education structures will be created, funded by the PNRR, and staff will be provided and financed by the state units of pre-university education from the state budget through the estimate of the Ministry of Education.

These structures should be created in 2023-2024.

Universities and companies – partnership for dual higher education

According to the GEO project, accredited institutions of higher education can organize, together with business entities, dual higher education, a form of education in which the responsibilities for training, teaching and evaluation are shared between the accredited institution of higher education and economic operators.

A higher educational institution organizes and carries out educational, teaching and evaluation activities, and business entities organize educational activities at the workplace and participate in evaluation.

The provisions of this law relating to the organization, quality assurance, admission, assessment in the learning process, completion, registration and issuance of documents on higher education are also applied to dual higher education.

Higher education institutions can establish independently or through associations commercial companies, foundations, associations, divisions of pre-university education, consortia for dual education, in agreement with the university senate, in accordance with legal provisions. The condition for their installation is that they contribute to increasing the productivity of the institution.

The higher educational institution concludes a partnership agreement with business entities, which establishes the terms of cooperation, the rights and obligations of the parties, as well as the expenses incurred by the partners.

Local government bodies, interested associative structures, namely chambers of commerce, sectoral associations of employers, as well as other relevant partners at the national or international levels can also contribute to the organization of a dual form of higher education.

For the implementation of activities in state higher educational institutions, financing is carried out according to the methodology approved by the order of the Minister of Education.

Economic entities provide scholarships, at least at the level of those provided from public funds for university education, as well as from other funds, for studying in quality conditions.

Business entities that enter into a partnership agreement with higher educational institutions regarding the organization and development of a dual form of higher education enjoy benefits regarding the payment of taxes, fees and contributions that belong to the state budget, social insurance budget, budgets of special funds or local budgets, respectively to the legislation, namely:

• a) the total cost of scholarships paid by business entities to students studying under the system of dual higher education is deducted from their income tax;
• b) the cumulative cost of investments aimed at on-the-job training is deducted from the income tax of economic entities;
• c) personnel appointed by the economic entity to directly manage training through work are exempt from paying income tax on wages.

The dual higher education curriculum contains learning, teaching and work-based learning activities as well as assessment. The learning load, specific to learning, teaching and work-based learning, is shared equally.

The teaching load is evaluated according to ECTS/SECT and is expressed in study credits.

After graduation, the higher educational institution issues a certificate about the period during which the student worked.

Dual higher education is organized:

• a) for the I cycle – bachelor’s programs corresponding to the number of credits from a minimum of 180 to a maximum of 240 credits;
• b) for the II cycle – professional master’s programs corresponding to the number of credits from a minimum of 60 to a maximum of 120 credits;
• c) for the III cycle – professional doctor.

Within the framework of dual higher education, the student/postgraduate student concludes with the institution of higher education and the business entity an individual contract on training and internship, which defines the rights and obligations of the parties.

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