Hungarian government does not consider heating in every school necessary

If the temperature in classrooms and team rooms reaches 20 degrees Celsius in winter, no additional heating is needed, according to the Orbán government.

László Kisfaludy, Deputy State Secretary for Public Education, said that if the temperature in classrooms reaches 20 degrees Celsius in winter, there is no need for additional heating. He wrote it in a letter of reply to István Tényi. Tényi contacted the Ministry of the Interior, which is also responsible for public education, after it emerged that the Ministry had instructed the school districts to assess the possibility of switching from gas to wood-burning in schools, and to purchase stoves – as we also reported.

The letter by Tényi and the reply

In his public interest announcement, also sent to Népszava, Tényi wondered to what extent classrooms have to be heated above the minimum level – i.e. the 20 degrees Celsius required by law – due to the escalating energy prices.

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According to the deputy state secretary for education, “no additional heating is required after the 20 degrees Celsius temperature is met”, as this is the minimum level set by the government decree on the operation of educational institutions.

This response is also noteworthy because another piece of legislation, the Ministerial Decree on the minimum level of occupational safety and health requirements in the workplace already sets the air temperature for mental work at 20-22 degrees Celsius in the cold season.

Is the minimum temperature really the optimal temperature?

According to Erzsébet Nagy, member of the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ), although the government decree on the operation of schools and kindergartens does indeed stipulate a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius in winter, this does not mean that institutions can be heated to a maximum of this temperature.

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It merely means that if the temperature falls below this and remains so for at least two days, an extraordinary break must be ordered. According to the campaigner, it is “cynical and malicious” of the Deputy Secretary of State to imagine the minimum as the optimum.

Erzsébet Nagy says it is almost certain that more educational institutions may switch to online education in the winter if the government wants to save on heating schools and kindergartens.

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Source: Népszava, DNH