Regular government press briefing about British EU proposal, public education, staff cut in public administration

Budapest, February 4 (MTI) – A unified position of the Visegrad Four is needed in connection with the UK’s reform package put forward to the European Union, government office chief Janos Lázár said. The government is prepared to hold talks with school leaders on Hungary’s public education system, he said. Lázár has said he will propose to the government that the 2017 budget take into account a 15 percent staff cut in public administration in an effort to scale back red tape.

V4 must unify positions on British EU proposal

The grouping of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia must discuss issues in connection with the British reform plans, including the rights and responsibilities of Hungarians taking jobs in the UK, Lázár told his weekly press conference on Thursday. He said a meeting of the V4 in Prague on February 15. will address the issue.

Lázár said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would hold talks in Moscow on Feb. 17 and attend a meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Feb. 18-19.

Government ready to hold talks on public education

Lázár said school district officials are constantly in talks with school leaders on the state of public education and noted that further talks will be held on February 9 when the newly-formed public education roundtable meets for the first time.

The government office chief said the pre-2010 public education system had “failed” and therefore could not be restored. Talks between schools and the government can only be meaningful if they are about the future, Lázár said.

In international, and European comparison, Hungary has a lower teacher-per-student ratio than other countries, and Hungarian students have fewer classes in their curriculum than their peers in other similar countries, Lázár said. The concept of a nine-grade elementary school has not been taken off the agenda, he said, adding that the main question being considered is the actual content of the curriculum children need to learn.

Concerning the running of schools, Lázár said a professional management system cannot be set up from one day to the next, and he said the state had lacked related experience over the past 30 years.

Addressing investment policy, Lázár said the government is setting up an investment development and an economic cabinet, and will also approve construction of the Abony-M0 section of the M4 highway.

Regarding international affairs, Lazar said that the prime minister will hold talks in Moscow on Feb. 17 as part of regular consultations between Hungary and Russia, he said, adding that topics will cover primarily bilateral issues. The migrant crisis as well as the conflict in Ukraine were “unavoidable” topics, added.

He said the Paks nuclear power plant investment was proceeding apace.