The human factor that is needed

Maricica Ciubara is an educational consultant and the key person at the Education Desk at Romexpo, an information point for Ukrainian parents, supported by UNICEF. From the beginning of the war until April 2025, more than 15,000 Ukrainian children have been enrolled in the Romanian education system, from kindergarten to high school. Maricica says she is the "human factor" needed to help refugees navigate the public education system. Discover Maricica's story and her impact on the integration of Ukrainian children and teenagers in the Romanian education system.

When the war started in 2022, I was in Brussels, being part of a team of professionals working to combat disinformation and fake news. At that time, as a journalist accredited by the European Commission and part of this team, I was trying to create useful and impactful mechanisms for the citizens of Europe. So my colleagues knew that I spoke Russian and Ukrainian and they contacted me because there was a need in Romania. It was essential for the authorities, and indeed for everyone, to communicate with the people coming to our country. At school, I learned Ukrainian but I spoke it very little, as Russian was predominant. But when I was contacted, I said "let's help, let's see what we can do".

At first, I translated directly at the border. Then I collaborated with various organizations giving Romanian language courses for children and adults. I did online courses at a university in the US and at a university in Spain, as well as an on-site course specially created at the University of Bucharest. We were a small team of pedagogues from all over the country who were trained to teach in an emergency context. When I was teaching children, I would look into their eyes and see a spark. There was a feeling that there was still hope in everything that was going on around us. We were teaching them with attention to emotions, to trauma. Because even today, in schools, if there's a siren or a louder sound, there are Ukrainian children hiding under the bench. These children still need assistance and counseling to overcome these moments.

In a way, I have lived their experience. I was born in the Republic of Moldova and, although I was Romanian, I came to Romania with a Moldovan passport, with a 90-day residence permit. I had to take qualification courses because my studies were not recognized. The difference is that I spoke Romanian, but otherwise I faced similar challenges. I understand them perfectly.

In 2023, we started the collaboration here at the Community Center at Romexpo, initially through a World Bank program, now through UNICEF's support. It's an information point where we help parents register their children for kindergarten, school, daycare or after-school activities. Here we make the file, help them to fill it in, scan the documents and then send them to the School Inspectorate of Bucharest. Some days I also work at the Inspectorate as an Educational Counselor for Integration, UNICEF-ISMB.

As of May 2023, we've had over 2000 children enrolled as auditors in schools. The audient status is, according to the law, a transitional, accommodating one, meant to facilitate their integration into the Romanian education system. Some Ukrainian children have remained in this audient status for up to three years and have also attended online school in Ukraine. In order to become a regular school pupil, it is necessary to have their studies recognized, which involves translating and sometimes legalizing documents. Even if there is this agreement between the ministries of education in Ukraine and Romania, you still need the documents translated. Translations are done by an authorized translator, some of them even need to be legalized.

They come with these documents to the educational establishment, submit the documents there, and the school's file comes to us at the Inspectorate, where, together with my colleagues, we help with the academic recognition. Compared to the enrollment of children in April 2024, now in April 2025, it has tripled, whether we're talking about kindergarten, middle school or high school.  

Together with colleagues from UNICEF, we have also digitized the enrollment part. Ukrainian citizens can go to the Inspectorate's website on the page dedicated to Ukraine, download the application, fill it in online and send it directly.

I receive even 50 phone calls a day. Some parents are newcomers, others need clarifications or support in dealing with the schools, the language barrier is, in fact, the main problem in most situations.  

Together with UNICEF, we have also helped to equip computer labs in schools with laptops to encourage collaboration between Romanian and Ukrainian children. Integration means bringing them into the school, but inclusion means making them feel part of the school.  

At one point, a Ukrainian family came to me with a situation. They had two children, one diagnosed with ADHD, one with autism. They had only been in Romania for a couple of weeks and needed to take their children for a couple of hours to a school activity. They were going to get a job and needed that time. I took their files, which were in Ukrainian and Russian, I went to my inspector colleagues and said "look, I will help you to translate these documents, but let's accept their application". And in three days they got the assignment and the children were together in the same school. The parents cried from happiness when they found out.  

I try to help as quickly as the institution or the law allows. I'm not working just from 9am to 5pm. I also answer the phone at eight in the evening. For me, the information point for Ukrainian parents at Romexpo is not just a job. The emotional interaction with these people is out of the desire, pleasure, passion and humanity to help. This is what it means to be the "human factor". It is a complex mission, almost a life-saving mission in their case, but it is a mission from which we Romanians and foreigners have to learn.