Digital transformation of the Romanian pre-university education system

Due to the dramatic spread of information and communication technologies tools increased by the forced lockdown, the digital transition of all economic sectors has become a prime concern for all European countries. Not only that having digital skills and competences was a question that swiftly turned into a priority, but also developing a well-equipped smart infrastructure capable of reducing the digital exclusion of socially disadvantaged groups. Taking into consideration the profound impact of digital technologies on the educational environment, the main objective of this paper is investigating the digital transformation of the Romanian pre-university system after a decade paved with numerous regulatory changes, a global pandemic crisis, and a refugee crisis generated by the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine up to the Romanian borders. At the same time, the paper highlights a comparative overview of key indicators for the education sector of Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova. In order to create resilient education systems, all European countries must urgently adopt and implement sustainable standards that place digital education on top of their priorities. Therefore, regulators and policymakers must focus on their key role in translating the European Commission's ambitions for the digital compass 2030 in concrete measures. The research is based on both qualitative and quantitative methods that study the positive impact of ICT on education, but also the challenges that need to be repressed in an effort to reduce the digital exclusion. With the sudden conversion of didactic activities into the digital universe, the negative repercussions of e-learning affected primarily the teachers and students in rural areas with poor/ no access to Internet, but also digitally unequipped. The findings of this research show positive premises for the Romanian educational pre-university system to recover the digital gap in relation to the best education systems in Europe.