Government: Education roundtable ‘the place’ to influence decisions

Budapest, February 17 (MTI) – An education roundtable “is the place where participants can influence decisions” in the sector, human resources state secretary Bence Rétvari said on Wednesday.

Representatives of the largest trade unions, parents and pupils, employers, the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference, the Hungary Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Arts are all involved, Rétvari told public news channel M1. In order to gain an international outlook, the OECD has also been invited to participate, he added.

Rétvari said he expected the quickest agreement over reform of central school manager Klik. At the same time, there are areas where the state does not want to introduce changes such as state maintenance of schools and free textbooks, he said.

The government is spending 34 billion forints (EUR 109m) on a scheme to develop teachers’ career model this year and “we are unable to discuss any wage demands beyond that”, he added.

Teachers held a large-scale demonstration in front of Parliament on Saturday, demanding systemic changes in education.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters