Socialists: Planned school reform ‘to have grave consequences’

Budapest, April 24 (MTI) – Changes planned to Hungary’s vocational secondary school system will have grave consequences for a whole generation as well as for the output of industry and the economy, Ágnes Kunhalmi, a Socialist lawmaker and deputy head of parliament’s culture and education committee, said.

The changes could affect the country’s social mobility, Kunhalmi told a press conference on Sunday.

“After placing public education under the control the state agency for schools (Klik), the next stupidest measure … is reform of the vocational training system,” she said.

Classroom hours for general education are slated to be cut, she said, adding that vocational schools had already seen the number of general subjects cut by one-third in an earlier wave of reforms. Students will not have the chance to gain the knowledge they need to pass their matriculation exams, reducing the chance for middle-class children to go on to university.

Kunhalmi noted that 300 schools are to be placed under the direct supervision of the economy ministry. Moreover, single-discipline vocational schools will be merged into a vocational training centre, entailing further school closures, she added.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters