The largest private university in Romania, Spiru Haret, decided to ignore the education authorities annulling thousands of graduation diplomas and went on with the recruiting of a new lot of students for the academic year debuting in October.

Headed by a rector routed in the communist regime and employing tens of influent teachers, the university brushes off warnings of the education minister, confident it is unstoppable. What’s more, it continues to lure students with false advertisements.

At the same time, thousands of graduates cannot use their diplomas after the Education Ministry recently declared them illegal since the low-attendance classes they took lacked credentials.

The rector’s impressive CV The Spiru Haret University’s confidence seems to the stemming from the rector’s impressive resume. Aurelian Bondrea, the man at the helm, is badmouthed to have authorized the diploma machine around the communist dictator’s wife, Elena Ceausescu, before 1989.

Moreover, the university brags with influent professors, such as Liberal politician and MEP Norica Nicolai, police inspector Lazar Carjan, magistrates and former government officials.

Spiru Haret counts 1,000 professors who teach 312,000 students, which means a teacher is in charge of 300 students.

Skyrocketing profit

The private university makes an annual profit accounting for a quarter of the state universities budget, earning more than 330 million lei from education taxes students have to pay.

“This is a mentality issue,” a former education minister, now a presidential advisor, Mircea Miclea, says. Students are more eager to get a diploma, not any knowledge.

Starting with 2000 when it received the official accreditation, the university opened 30 faculties with 50 specializations and rolled 68 masters programs.

A scandal over the university’s unaccredited education specializations broke a few days ago when the minister decided to lift its authorization, after several irregularities regarding curricula papers.

The university last filed for an official license five years ago, for five of its distance learning departments.

Also read Diplomas of private university grads stamped as illegal Republica „Spiru Haret” şi-a declarat independenţa