Emigrat

many of them had children and/or grandchildren who grew up and
studied in the West. Nowadays, during school holidays, on the
streets of the suburban villages of Negotin you can meet children
from Romanians (“Vlachs”) families speaking German to each other.
The main country of migration for the purpose of obtaining
education for boys and girls from Romanians (“Vlachs”) families who
grew up and graduated from high school in Serbia is Romania. This
is facilitated by both linguistic proximity (Romanians of eastern Serbia
are speakers of the Olten and Banat dialects of the Dacoromanian
language), and the existing program in Romania to support
Romanians living outside the borders of this country, thanks to
which Romanian-speaking natives of the Republic of Moldova,
Serbia, and Bulgaria and other countries can study for free at
Romanian universities. However, currently all students from Serbia
at Romanian universities are required to study in preparatory
department, where during the year they master the literary Romanian
language. In the mid-2000s, when it was not compulsory, Romanian
students from eastern Serbia refused this option. At the same time,
teachers at Romanian universities who had to work with such
students said that studying was very difficult for them due to
ignorance of literary Romanian. (However, it should be noted that
the same teachers also noted difficulties with studies among many
students from the Republic of Moldova, but the latter’s difficulties
were caused not by language problems, but by a general low level of
preparation).
Most students from eastern Serbia study at the universities
of Craiova, Timișoara and Bucharest. The vast majority of them
enter medical faculties. The reason for this is the fairly high
quality of medical education in Romania and the fact that
Romanian diplomas are recognized throughout the EU. A similar
choice is typical for Romanian students from Northwestern
Bulgaria: most often they choose the Faculty of Medicine of the
University of Craiova. “Pilgrimages” to study in France have
long been characteristic of Romanian youth, and in recent years
also of Romanian youth.
191