Coronavirus – Hungarian universities announced emergency measures

Photo: Daily News Hungary - Alpár Kató

The government has ordered a state of emergency in connection with protective measures against the new coronavirus, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said on Wednesday.

Hungary has introduced a ban on university visits, but remote study options will remain open as a protective measure in the fight against the coronavirus, Gergely Gulyás announced. Universities will start closing on Thursday, Gulyás said.

Read alsoCoronavirus – Hungarian government orders state of emergency – UPDATE

Pénzcentrum reported that all the Hungarian universities announced an early spring break from March 16 to March 20. This week will allow the institutions to think about further steps and methods to allow students to continue their studies. It is unknown when the governmental ban will be lifted. This exceptional break does not affect the employees and teachers of the universities. For the time being, rules regarding work schedules, paid and sick leaves remain unchanged.

University students and teachers are not allowed to enter the facilities, and they have been told not to travel abroad under any circumstances, especially to infected areas.

Although students are not allowed to visit the university personally, the right to study still stands during the ban. Furthermore, Hungarian students cannot stay in dormitories and need to travel home. Only foreign students have the opportunity to stay at university accommodations if their return to their permanent residence (home) is not possible.

All details about the government’s emergency measures!

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics announced that this year’s semester would last until August 31.

From March 23, students will attend university courses online (distance learning methods) with modern technology and telecommunication devices, but the methodology and appointments are still uncertain.

The expiration date of student IDs will automatically be extended while these extraordinary measures persist.

At the Corvinus University of Budapest, the reading room service of the University Library will remain unavailable. However, loan services will be accessible in the next days and throughout the early spring break, based on the schedule released by the Director-General of the Library.