LMP unveils programme to “re-establish” higher education

(MTI) – The opposition LMP party has drafted a programme for putting Hungary’s higher education system on “right track” after a “downward path” during the past four-year term of the government, spokesman Erno Peto told a press conference on Sunday.

Listing concerns, lawmaker Agnes Osztolykan said that under Viktor Orban’s government, the number of fully state-funded university seats shrank, while the scope of paid-for courses expanded. Regulations were constantly altered, and restrictive conditions for students trained from public funds were first enshrined in a law and then in the constitution, she said.

The number of students applying for higher education dropped from 140,000 to 100,000, and of those admitted from 100,000 to 70,000, she said.

State funding for higher education decreased from 180-190 billion forints (EUR 582m-615m) in 2010 to 120-130 billion by the end of the governing cycle, she said.

LMP’s programme envisages spending 5-6 percent of the central budget on higher education and “opening wide the doors” of universities to ensure that four in every ten young Hungarians could earn a diploma, said Peto.

Further, LMP is for saving and developing universities in the countryside, scrapping tuition fees and restrictions on students on public funds, increasing the wages of higher education employees, as well as supporting student entrepreneurs, he said.

Photo: irasbelikerdes.blog.hu / Facebook

Source: http://hungarymatter.hu/