Hungarian teachers’ union protests planned changes to public education law

Budapest, April 27 (MTI) – Planned changes to Hungary’s public education law would hurt poor families, the head of teachers’ trade union PSZ told a press conference on Thursday, and called on parliament not to vote the bill into law.

Piroska Galló said that no consultations had been held before the bill was submitted to parliament, and proposed that the human resources minister should call a meeting of the teachers’ strike committee.

The union leader said that the government’s career models for teachers had failed; the scheme has not made the profession more attractive to young people, nor has it prevented teachers from changing their jobs. She mentioned that some 4,000 teachers quit their jobs in the current academic year, while only 800 have been hired. She suggested that anyone would be welcome to take those jobs irrespective of their qualifications, and said that “it does not express the government’s appreciation for the profession if people knowing nothing about children are allowed to teach them”.

Source: MTI