This article starts from the idea that, although human capital has a very important role in the process of economic development, not every accumulation of this factor, by increasing the level and quality of education, generates economic growth. Based on qualitative analysis, we will try to demonstrate that, in the case of Romania, the problem of financing education must be rethought according to the correlations between the stage of development and the need of labor force. We will show that, no matter how much Romanian tertiary education is financed, the expected economic effects will not be achieved as long as there is no qualitative revolution at the primary and secondary level.