Academic employees protest higher education reform in Hungary

The forum of academic employees on Thursday rejected the government’s bill of higher education reform, citing lack of wide-spread consultation and the circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has become clear that certain universities … voted in favour of the restructuring while its true content was not known, and will not be published until the bill is submitted to parliament,” the Forum of Academic Employees (ADF) said in a statement.

ADF noted the earlier reorganisation of the Academy of Sciences, and said “the unlawful separation [of the Academy’s] research network, and poorly prepared legislation have created uncertainty and caused great damage.”

The forum called on the government and commissioner István Stumpf to refrain from “abusing the grave [pandemic] situation in which the university citizenship and the academic community cannot represent its interests.”

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Source: MTI