History was the most popular faculty 20 years ago

[Info-Prim Neo story from the Series “Moldova-20! Whereto?”] History was the most popular faculty 20 years ago, recalls Claudia Cemartan, dean of the Faculty of Letters, State University of Moldova. While back then History was followed in terms of popularity by Physics and Mathematics, now the most popular now are Law, Economy and Foreign Languages, Info-Prim Neo reports. “History was the most popular faculty because all the heads of important state institutions had History studies. It was also prestigious to be a student in Physics or Mathematics, but the popularity of these faculties has dropped”, said the dean. Claudia Cemartan, who has been a university professor for 30 years, thinks the popularity of faculties depends on the appreciation given to various professions by society. More often than not, students consider the possible future salary. “When admission starts, young people crowd to manage to apply for a faculty, but many of them are unsure about the specialization. In the past, before coming to university, the youth already knew what they would do after studies and were sure they would work according to their specialization. Today, they don’t really know what to do after graduating”, said the dean. Claudia Cemartan said that generations of students changed: today’s students are more indifferent, their faces are apathetic and troubled. “On one hand, I understand they have problems, the parents of many of them are abroad. However, they don’t seem to really care about studying. I’d like to see more active youth who would put heart into what they have chosen to do”. The dean admits that the level of knowledge is unfortunately dropping. During the first session of admission at the State University of Moldova, 70 candidates applied for the Faculty of History, 60 for Physics and 160 for Mathematics. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Economy has 900 applicants, Law 800 and Foreign Languages 500.