International elite school to be opened in Hungary

An international high-school, teaching primarily in English will be opened in 2023 at a rather unconventional location. The old building of the National Institution of Psychiatry and Neurology (OPNI) will give place to the new institution.

The school will expect students from neighbouring countries between the ages of 14-18 – said Levente Magyar, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economy in a programme of the TV channel TV2, writes telex.hu.  Mihály Varga, the Minister of Finance, was a guest of the programme as well.

According to the report made by MTI, Mihály Varga, who is also the parliamentary deputy of the 1st and 3rd districts in Budapest, said that 13 years ago destroying the National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology was a colossal mistake. In 2007 the then-government of Ferenc Gyurcsány abolished OPNI as part of the restructuring of hospitals. The medical attendance of patients being treated there was carried on in other facilities. The 130-year-old institution gave jobs to 900 people and was running with 850 beds. The late-OPNI is a building with the second-largest floorspace in Hungary after the Parliament; it has been empty ever since although several plans of taking advantage of its potential have resurfaced throughout the years.

The government has recently decided to give the 41 acres land and its 39 thousand square metres big building to educational purposes.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be in charge of the preparations to create and run the Centre-European Educational Foundation.

Levente Magyar talked about what type of school is being planned to be set up in the very old, palace-like building situated in the middle of a vast, old park :

  • According to the plans, the high-school will open its gates in 2023
  • Students aged 14-18 from all over the region and especially from countries of the Visegrád Group are expected to study in the school
  • The primary language of the international school will be English, but every student would have the opportunity to learn in his own language

It was already reported that parents wanting to send their kids to the school would have to pay a tuition fee which will be determined in dollars or euros by the advisory board of the Foundation. The school will provide a scholarship programme and give the possibility to less wealthy families too.

Whereas the government extends the possibilities of learning in a foreign language in high-school education, it has recently closed the door to do the same in kindergartens. Learn more about it here. 

Source: telex.hu

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