were a model for other neighboring countries. For instance, Bulgarian students made an alliance with union syndicates and protested through marathon demonstrations and strikes. The difference in that case was that their union syndicates were strong allies of students. Also, their movement was less radical but more powerful and realistic. In this case, they succeeded to dismiss some communist leaders. In Ukraine, the social movements from the end of 2004 against electoral frauds had the same structure. General assessment In 2015 the Romanian adult literacy rate was 98.8%. In 2004, the combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools was 75% (52nd worldwide) According to the prestigious QS World University Rankings, in 2012, four Romanian universities were included in the Top 700 universities of the world (601+ band): Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Bucharest and West University of Timișoara. The situation of rural education The rural population experiences significant hardship, and many rural children have their right to education severely affected - about 16% of children aged 7–10 and 25% of children aged 11–14 from rural areas do not attend school, according to Save the Children. The situation becomes even worse after eighth grade (the last grade of middle school corresponding to age 14–15) because children must change schools to go to high school, and many villages do not have high schools, and therefore parents must make arrangements for their children to commute to the nearest locality or for the child to move there. Commuting is difficult, and as a result many children abandon school (despite the fact that education is compulsory until twelfth grade). In one study, a third of rural school children said they planned to drop out of school after eighth grade. Religious education The teaching of religion in schools is a controversial issue in Romania, and it is a political topic regularly debated in the public space. Various politicians (notably Remus Cernea) or NGOs have been vocal on this issue. In 2014, the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that parents (or legal guardians) of students (or students over 18 years) who want to study religion must submit an opt-in application for this class. Before 2014, all students were enrolled automatically, unless their parents opted-out, with pressure to attend being high. There are also debates on whether religion should be taught in a confessional way or in a history of religion way.