Abstract. The actual economic crisis reveals the problems within the public educational system. The malfunctions of this sector are augmented by the special significance of education for society and economic system. The modern theories of human capital emphasize the state’s important role in financing education. On this basis, education seems to be the best solution in solving society and economy’s different problems. That’s why I consider that economic crisis is also the crisis of education. This paper aims to emphasize this argument underlying also the need for structural reform within the public educational systems.

Keywords: education; externalities; economic crisis; overaccumulation; institutions.