Demonstration held in Budapest after head of secondary school fired – UPDATE

Demo held in Budapest after head of secondary school fired
Demo held in Budapest after head of secondary school fired. Photo: MTI

Students, teachers, parents, and their supporters gathered on Monday in front of the Interior Ministry to protest against firing the Madách Secondary School director in Budapest.

The protest was held also in connection with a recent government decree banning the use of mobile phones in schools.

Levente Felhofi-Kiss, a Madách alumnus, said school rules had always regulated the use of mobile phones. “The digital world is our life,” he said.

Beata Berta and Olivér Pilz, activists of the Tanítanék movement, said teachers had recently been subjected to “repercussions”.

“A policeman became education minister in 2022, and the firing of teachers practising civil disobedience started, then the law on the status of teachers was passed, and many heads who stood up for teachers’ rights were sacked,” they said.

A former teacher at Madách, András Ferenc Dukán, said he had been fired “for trumped-up reasons” a year ago, just as a former head, Csaba Mészáros, had earlier this year.

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UPDATE

Government: Most agree with restricting smartphone use in schools

Surveys show that most Hungarians agree with restricting the use of smartphones in schools, a government official said on Tuesday, adding that respondents also backed the government’s related decree.

Bence Rétvári, the parliamentary secretary of the interior ministry, said devices may only be used in the classroom if doing so is relevant to the lesson at hand, and the government has provided 450,000 laptops to students so far, and 100,000 more will be distributed this year. Online bullying can be minimised by restricting the use of mobile devices during school hours, he added.

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