The educational system, in general, stressed technical, political, and economic subjects; and the classroom work in the elementary and secondary schools was underscored by the Pioneers Organization, whose extracurricular activities were considered an integral part of the educational program. The Union of Communist Youth and the Union of Student Associations performed similar functions in the higher schools. The academic year ran from October to September, and elementary and secondary classes ended at the end of May. At the university level all instruction was divided into two semesters, running respectively from October 1 to January 14 and from February 15 to June 30. The grading system at all levels utilized numbers from a high of ten to a low of one, five being the minimal passing grade. Administration and Finance The Ministry of Education exercised overall control and direction of the educational system and implemented all party policies and directives concerning its management. In carrying out this broad mission, the ministry cooperated with other central organs of state administration and principally with the Romanian Academy of Social and Political Sciences. Under the country's highly centralized control system, the ministry's specific functions included: the determination of the number and kinds of institutions to be organized in the school network and the types of trades and specialties to be taught; the drawing up of plans, curricula, syllabi, and textbooks and teaching materials; the supervision over the training, appointment, promotion, and dismissal of all educational personnel; the general supervision of research plans at higher institutions of learning; and the coordination of the assignment of graduates to meet the planned requirements of the economy.