The Roma students with special academic performance will benefit from merit scholarships of up to 1,200 lei if they pass a contest staged by the Interethnic Relations Agency, as the Cabinet agreed on Friday.

According to Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun, the contest is open to persons aged between 16 and 25 who do not benefit from scholarships provided from the state budget.

Up to 120 persons will be able to benefit from such a scholarship this year – about 60 from lyceums, 15 from vocational schools, 20 from post-secondary vocational schools and 25 from universities. A sum of 1.5 million lei was allocated from the state budget for the purpose.