education

Great news! MOME launches MA courses in English language

Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) is launching its first fully English-language MA courses. In 2021, the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, the maintainer of the institution, asked the university to ensure the launch of at least two English-language MA programmes per year for three years from autumn 2022. The first two MA courses in English will be Photography and Interaction Design.

“Our goal is to make MOME the most prestigious university in Central Europe by 2030. This will require having English-language courses that are competitive with those offered by Western universities and can attract talents from the Baltic to the Western Balkans. Hungarian students will also benefit from the arrival of foreign students by improving their language skills and networking. Last but not least, strengthening our ties on personal and professional levels will be beneficial for Hungary and the whole of Central Europe”,

emphasized Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, President of the MOME Foundation.

“It is symbolic that one of our first two English-language MA programmes will start in photography, a field of study that has been recognised and popular for decades and closely linked to the oeuvre of László Moholy-Nagy, while the other is a new and distinctly futuristic field that aims to exploit the potential of the digital age. Tradition and commitment to the future together embody the spirit of MOME”,

said József Fülöp, Rector of MOME.

Until April 2022, MOME will promote the new MA courses in the region using a targeted communication campaign, with a special focus on undergraduate art students in Belgrade, Brno, Krakow, Ljubljana, Łódź, Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw.

The price of the courses starting now will be relatively high compared to those offered in the region, but there will be a special scholarship programme for the best applicants from Central Europe.

Naturally, the English-language courses will also be available to Hungarian students with the usual state-funded options, even up to the full cost of their studies.

Read more news about higher education in Hungary

MOME Changes Model

Since August 2020, the 142 year-old Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) has been operating in a foundation framework.

As part of the model change, MOME has created a long-term strategy, renewed its research & development activities, launched the digitalisation of the university’s internal processes and started to modernise its trainings. In addition to the traditionally high quality art and design education, from 2022, MOME will introduce entrepreneurial education for all undergraduate students and launch its first English-language MA programmes. In 2021, MOME’s budget has nearly quadrupled, and the foundation has also decided to grant the most substantial pay rise to teachers in the history of Hungarian higher education.

Read also3 Hungarian universities among the 30 best in Europe and Central Asia

January 3, 2022

Opposition parties promises wage hikes for Hungarian teachers

Opposition parties on Thursday promised to implement a one-time large-scale wage hike and wage supplements for teachers should the opposition come to power after the general election this spring.

Socialists

Ágnes Kunhalmi of the Socialist Party told an online press conference that Hungary had failed to modernise its education sector over the past 10 to 12 years. She said the country was struggling with a shortage of teachers, adding that many of Hungary’s teachers were old and many were leaving the profession.

She said that

once teachers’ wages were hiked, the new government would have to gradually keep raising wages in the sector in order to make the profession attractive again.

She also underlined the importance of providing wage supplements to those teaching, for example, disadvantaged and special needs students.

read also: Why do thousands of talented students leave the Hungarian education system?

Jobbik

Koloman Brenner of Jobbik said the new government would give students a chance to pass at least an intermediate language exam before graduating from secondary school. Students enrolled in vocational training will also be given the opportunity to learn foreign languages, he added.

He also promised that the first degree would be tuition-free for university and college students, adding that this policy would also apply conditionally to graduate and PhD programmes.

Brenner said

the new government would review the foundation model under which most universities now operate and “restore the government’s democratic control over state-financed higher education”.

Momentum

Endre Tóth, a board member of the Momentum Movement, promised the establishment of modern schools that favour the development of students’ skills, creativity and team work.

“Hungary is in need of open schools where everyone has equal opportunities and whose operations local communities have a say in,” he said.

The new government, Tóth said, would reduce the burdens on both teachers and students, place greater emphasis on critical thinking, work to improve financial literacy and expand digital skills. As part of the latter goal, he added, the government would distribute tablets to all students. If it comes to power, the opposition will raise the school-leaving age to 18 again, he said.

Read also Opposition: the government took away university autonomy

December 31, 2021

Opposition: the government took away university autonomy

If the united opposition wins next spring’s general election and forms Hungary’s next government, LMP as a member of it will press for restoring the autonomy of the country’s universities, the party’s group leader said on Wednesday.

“One of the vilest things the government has done this past year, if not during its entire term”, has been to restructure universities and “place them under political control”, László Lóránt Keresztes told an online press conference. He made reference to the “model changing” scheme under which over twenty Hungarian universities have shifted from being state-run to being operated by an asset management foundation.

“It is clear that the entire programme has been about anything but a model change,”

he said, insisting the structural transformation “was a lie” and resulted in “trampling on university autonomy”.

The group leader said it was not true that the replacement of the university managers served the objective of developing the country’s higher education system with a view to making it more competitive.

“It was also a lie that the universities have themselves asked for their conversion into a new structure as much as it was a lie by the government that they would respect the universities’ autonomy,”

Keresztes said.

Read also: 3 Hungarian universities among the 30 best in Europe and Central Asia

Meanwhile, government party lawmakers decided in parliament to approve the construction of

“a campus of the Chinese Communist Party’s”

elite Fudan University in Budapest with several hundreds of billions of forints paid by Hungarian taxpayers, the group leader said. “This is a symbolic issue and this is why the opposition’s referendum initiative for repealing the relevant law is highly important,” he said.

Read alsoOpposition starts collecting signatures against the Chinese university

December 22, 2021

Check out this mesmerising new building in the heart of Budapest – PHOTOS

Magyar Zene Háza House of Hungarian Music

The House of Hungarian Music has finally been finished, and it looks incredible. On 22 January, on the Day of Hungarian Culture, it will open with an interactive music history exhibition and music programmes, stated MTI.

The design of Japanese star architect Sou Fujimoto was chosen from 168 entries in an open competition back in 2014.

The design

The Deputy Chief Technical Officer of Városliget Zrt., Attila Sághi, said:

“When they announced Sou Fujimoto’s designs as the winner of the international competition, many doubted that such a building was possible to be built in Hungary.”

As Sághi implied, it truly was a difficult task: in the lobby alone, there are at least thirty technical solutions that are unprecedented in the region. In spite of it being a demanding challenge, the builders carried it out perfectly.

As Portfolio reported, András Batta (Managing Director of the House of Hungarian Music) said that

“In parallel with the completion of the building, the construction of the permanent exhibition is ongoing. When it opens at the end of January next year, the project will showcase the turning points in European, and in particular in Hungarian, music history.”

The exhibition called “Sound Dimensions – Musical Journeys in Space and Time” covers 1,000 square metres.

Role and formation

Batta also shared that the House of Hungarian Music will play a multifunctional role. It will provide a home for concerts and community music-making, with an emphasis on music education.

“There will also be interactive permanent and temporary exhibitions, a sound dome, and a creative sound space,”

he added.

Apart from the exhibition, another big attraction is the sound dome. It is a dome-shaped space with a screen stretched around it. In addition to the spectacle, more than 30 loudspeakers provide the sounds around us: a wide range of sound effects, from nature sounds to composed music.

The sound dome will also be a space for educational activities, musical experiments, and art projects.

The House of Hungarian Music was built as part of the Liget Budapest project, next to the City Park lake near Vajdahunyad Castle. The cost of the building is also astonishing: it cost 18.5 billion forints (almost 41 million euros).

Read alsoThe new bridge built over the River Tisza is unique in Europe – PHOTOS

December 18, 2021

3 Hungarian universities among the 30 best in Europe and Central Asia

ELTE University Higher Education Hungary

A total of 16 Hungarian universities managed to grab a place on Quacquarelli Symonds’s (QS) list of best universities for 2022.

According to Hellómagyar, the British Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) evaluates the performance of emerging universities in Europe and in Asia each year. The leading universities on the latest list are Russian, with Lomonosov Moscow State University taking the first place.

As the company wrote, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has grown to become the world’s most popular source of comparative data about university performance.

And while Poland and the Czech Republic are also quite high on the list, each having two universities in the top 10, Hungary has also achieved comparatively great results.

On the latest list, QS evaluated fifty more universities from Europe and Central Asia, having a total of 450 universities ranked on the 2022 list.

In total, 10 Hungarian universities managed to make it into the top 33%.

According to the list, the best performing Hungarian university was Eötvös Loránd University, reaching overall 26th place from all nominees.

However, two more Hungarian universities got to be included in the top 30 contenders. Tied at 29th place are the University of Szeged and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

This means that 3 Hungarian universities are placed in the top 6.67% of all partaking universities of Europe and Central Asia, which is excellent performance.

To adequately gauge the performance of the best universities, QS used a series of criteria. The criteria are the following: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, faculty staff with PhD, citations per paper, papers per faculty, international research network, international faculty ratio, international students ratio, and, last but not least, the web impact of each university.

From these categories, Hungarian universities are especially good at international research networks, with the best 3 Hungarian universities each scoring over 90 points.

The other category they excel at is Web Impact with over 95 points each.

If you want to browse the complete list, you can find it HERE.

Read alsoStudent satisfaction in Hungary higher than EU average

December 18, 2021

How do Hungarian universities, schools handle the pandemic?

We are currently experiencing the peak of the fourth wave of the pandemic, and since it is already December, it looks like Hungarian schools will not close or switch to online education in the foreseeable future.

According to Telex, as parents and students experience occasional Covid cases in classes and university groups, it is worth examining the many different ways how Hungarian schools handle epidemiological precautions. In this article you will find a few examples on what to do in schools and universities if you or your peers are coronavirus infected.

Who will be sent home?

There is a discrepancy in this matter since elementary schools have classes where children can be administered the vaccine while others are yet too young to take it.

In this case, children with no vaccination were usually sent home to be quarantined or to be tested while children who have had their jabs administered could remain at school if they produced a negative Covid test.

Under recent regulations, contact persons of any kind – vaccinated or not – must stay at home and be quarantined, says Népszava.

What if the teacher or educator is infected?

In general, schools in Hungary do not close, so institutions will try to come up with a solution to mitigate the dangers of the pandemic.

Telex writes about a case when it was discovered that one of the faculty members was coronavirus positive. The dean of the school allowed parents to decide whether or not they wanted their children to stay at home. In case they did, the student’s absence was certified by the dean.

Eötvös Lóránd University

In general, universities can declare their own epidemiological restrictions, says Telex. Since September, one of the most popular universities of Hungary has been conducting weekly surveys about their students’ and teachers’ health conditions.

Roughly 30-40% of the 38,156 students and faculty members fills out the survey regularly.

Although it is not a representative survey, according to the latest numbers, about 2% of those who answered are proven to be Covid positive and a further 6% believes that their symptoms might be attributed to Covid infection.

Pázmány Péter Catholic University

At the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, the institution has already switched to online education, but at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, they still have regular education with class attendance.

Telex reports that, according to some students, the epidemiological measures are not sufficient.

They said that in most cases, attendance is strictly monitored, and some professors would still mark students absent even if they were in quarantine. Due to that, many students still attend classes with minor cold or flu symptoms which could be also attributed to coronavirus infection.

The dean of the humanities faculty refuted these claims, saying that the number of known infections is very low.

Unfortunately, it seems that the situation is handled differently at every institution. The general view of the Hungarian Government is that the educational institutions, especially elementary and high schools, should remain open as long as possible.

Read also“Education descending into ruins” – Hungarian teachers refuse to take mandatory jab

December 11, 2021

Student satisfaction in Hungary higher than EU average

Student satisfaction in Hungary is higher than the average of the European Union, the human resources ministry said on Thursday, referring to the findings of a survey published in the bloc’s Education and Training Monitor 2021.

Hungary scored 7.12 on a scale of 1-10, while the EU average was 6.8, the ministry said in a statement.

The monitor focused on EU members’ measures taken in 2020, with special regard to the impact on education and classroom atmosphere of the coronavirus pandemic. Authors of the monitor highlighted Hungary’s encoding the importance of “physical and spiritual health development” at school, stipulations in the National Crime Prevention Strategy aimed at improving security in schools, as well as the introduction of school guards, the ministry said.

The monitor indicates that 92.9 percent of young Hungarian children attend kindergarten, including 91 percent of Roma children, the highest such ratio in central Europe,

the statement said.

Read alsoWhy do thousands of talented students leave the Hungarian education system?

December 9, 2021

Hungary, Latvia conclude oncology cooperation agreement

Hungary and Latvia concluded an agreement on cooperation in oncology in Budapest on Wednesday. The agreement envisages cooperation in research, education and innovation. It was signed by leaders of Hungary’s National Institute of Oncology, the Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital and the University of Latvia.

The ceremony was attended by Latvian President Egils Levits and Hungarian Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Egils Levits, the president of Latvia, for talks in Budapest on Wednesday, the prime minister’s press chief told MTI. During the talks focusing on challenges facing the European Union and NATO, bilateral economic ties and scientific cooperation, Orbán told Levits that Hungary’s supported Latvia’s efforts to combat illegal migration.

The two leaders highlighted the importance of protecting the EU’s external borders and called on the EU to provide financing to member states that do so.

Levits visited Hungary at the invitation of János Áder, his Hungarian counterpart, to mark the centenary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and the 30th anniversary of resumption of those relations.

Read alsoPresident calls for the protection of EU borders!

December 9, 2021

Why do thousands of talented students leave the Hungarian education system?

While Hungarian universities are popular among foreign students, many Hungarian high school graduates decide to leave the Hungarian education system.

As Daily News Hungary wrote, Hungarian universities provide high-quality education and many possibilities for students. The best universities in Hungary are Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), University of Szeged, University of Debrecen, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (KRE), Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE / PPCU), Semmelweis University (SOTE), University of Pécs, Corvinus University of Budapest, and the National University of Public Service.

Hungarian universities provide good education, and many of them have prestigious partner universities abroad. Despite this, many people decide to study abroad. Unfortunately, some of the brightest students pursue higher education abroad.

There are universities where 10-15% of accepted students do not register at the university. These students applied to foreign universities as well and chose that instead of studying in Hungary.

Some of the most popular destinations include the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and other Scandinavian countries. The United Kingdom is still on the list, but many students decided to apply to institutions in other countries after Brexit.

“Education descending into ruins” – Hungarian teachers refuse to take mandatory jab

What is the best university in Hungary? – New ranking reveals!

While there can be various reasons that make students resign from pursuing higher education, every second student decides not to register at a Hungarian university due to plans to study abroad, eduline.hu writes.

At Eötvös Loránd University, 10% of the accepted students do not start their studies. This is a small percentage, but ELTE has the most applicants each year, which means that at least 1,000 students do not start their studies. However, choosing to study abroad instead is not the most common reason behind the decision not to start the semester at university.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) loses 7.2% of accepted students. They study or work abroad instead. At Semmelweis University, the ratio is between 2% and 5%. This is not surprising as Semmelweis is an internationally recognised university, and med school students are very determined. Another reason for the low percentage could be that med school applications in foreign countries are different, the process could be more difficult, tuition is expensive, and it is easier to study in one’s first language, especially in such a demanding field of study.

No matter where they study, Hungarian students can do great work, meet challenges, and get the knowledge and skills they desire. It is unfortunate, however, that approximately 15,000 students find something abroad that they feel the Hungarian higher education system to lack.

Read alsoHungary projects to launch 10 military high schools by 2030 – PHOTOS

November 28, 2021

Hungary implementing largest international economy development scheme in Uganda, says minister

Hungary is implementing its largest ever international economy development in Uganda in an effort to halt migration, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday in Budapest.

He told a joint press conference with Ugandan counterpart, Abubaker Jeje Odongo, that “migration and terrorism, whichare closely interlinked, pose the greatest threat to the security of Europe” and Africa represents the primary source for both.

The Hungarian government believes in enabling locals to stay in their homelands. African countries that want to retain their citizens are important allies in this effort, he said.

“It is a vested interest of European countries and people that the European Union, Brussels, should support these countries in these efforts,” he added.

Instead of “constantly increasing the funding for migration”, European resources should be used for stopping it,

he added.

The government’s position is that help must be taken to where it is needed, he said. As a result, a 5.2 billion forint (EUR 14.4m) economy development scheme is being implemented with Hungarian financing and by Hungarian participants in Uganda, a country which receives one of the largest number or refugees and migrants in the world, he added.

Hungarian water treatment solutions are being used to provide daily 160,000 litres of drinking water in a refugee camp, mobile health containers have been supplied and a hospital in Kampala is being supplied with Hungarian cardiology equipment, he said.

Hungarian companies have set up a cyber security centre and biometric registry for refugees and migrants, and Hungary supports developments in the tourism sector, he added.

read also: Szijjártó is the first Hungarian foreign minister to make an official visit to Seychelles

The security, hygienic and economic developments are planned to enable Ugandan people and migrants in Uganda to stay in place, Szijjártó said. The scheme is planned to continue, with Eximbank opening a 46 million dollar credit line to support Hungarian companies to get involved, he added.

In cooperation with Germany, Hungary is participating in a development programme dubbed Sanitation for Millions which involves a 300 million forint contribution to improving hygienic conditions in schools and hospitals,

he said.

Szijjártó also said that Uganda needs long-term economic development and the modernisation of agriculture is an important area of bilateral cooperation.

Hungary has started agricultural training in Uganda to offer competitive skills to local experts. Additionally, twenty Ugandan students can attend Hungarian universities each year with the help of state scholarships.

Some 122 applications were submitted for the positions this year, which demonstrated significant interest, he added.

Jeje Odongo thanked Hungary for its support and expressed appreciation of the southern and eastern opening strategies which he said contributed to global cooperation to resolve common challenges.

He said vaccination was the most important means in the fight against coronavirus pandemic but warned that vaccines were still not equally available around the world.

Read also Hungary to develop Rwanda’s water management facilities

November 22, 2021

“Education descending into ruins” – Hungarian teachers refuse to take mandatory jab

According to a recent survey, nearly 19% of unvaccinated teachers do not intend to take the mandatory vaccine. These educators will be sent on unpaid leave from 1st January and may be dismissed a year later if they do not get the vaccine until then. According to experts, this will result in huge problems in the operation of Hungarian educational institutions, based on the fact that there are schools where only 40% of the teachers are vaccinated.

Based on a government decree issued last week, vaccination has become mandatory for teachers working in public educational institutions. Those who have previously been vaccinated must prove their vaccination to the head of the institution, while those who do not comply with this requirement will be sent on unpaid leave at the end of this year and may be dismissed a year later if they do not get the vaccine until then. As Hungarian news portal 24.hu reports, educators must get the first vaccine by 15th December.

The new regulation has caused outrage among Hungarian educators. Based on a recent survey carried out by the Democratic Union of Teachers,

almost 19% of unvaccinated teachers do not intend to take the vaccine.

According to the head of the union, these educators will look for other jobs if they are sent on unpaid leave. Based on the data of the internal survey, so far, 8,732 teachers have been affected by the new regulation, and almost 19% of them – 1,637 – will not take the mandatory vaccine, reports 24.hu.

According to the head of the union, huge problems can be expected in the operation of certain educational institutions if they cannot employ unvaccinated teachers.

These educators will look for other jobs if they are sent on unpaid leave because they cannot afford to drop out of work and be without social security.

Accordingly, people’s livelihoods are at stake. Secondly, those who remain in the institution will need to face extra work in order to provide the smooth operation of educational institutions.

Peaceful demonstration in Mohács

Regarding these concerns, a peaceful demonstration was organised in Mohács on Wednesday evening. The educators protested against compulsory vaccination. According to one of the organisers,

there is a school in the area where 40% of educators have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

If they are sent on unpaid leave, the institution will get into serious trouble, while “education is slowly descending into ruins,” commented the organiser to Eduline.

According to a participant, they are also afraid of the virus, but even more afraid of the possible side effects of the vaccine. “We believe in science, as we all want to pass on the knowledge of science to our students. We acknowledge the work of doctors and researchers. However, we believe that this vaccine was made available too early. Therefore, it should be available for those who demand it but not mandatory for those who still have questions.” In addition to the possible side effects of the vaccine, Hungarian educators are afraid of the ”inhuman amount of overtime” that can be expected by those who remain employed.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI), vaccination in schools is close to 90%, and the new regulation will not cause operational problems. However, professional organisations think that the problem is greater than this, as vaccination varies from region to region. There are certain institutions where the proportion of vaccinated educators is only 50-60%.

Read alsoThese Hungarian employers made vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for their workers

November 21, 2021

What is the best university in Hungary? – New ranking reveals!

Despite the country’s small size, Hungary’s education system has formed numerous bright minds over the course of history. The country’s universities provide high-quality education and many possibilities for their students, even for foreigners. Hvg now created a ranking of the Hungarian universities. Find out which one is the best.

Hvg used two main categories when determining the ranking of the greatest universities of Hungary. According to Index, the first one was the number of teachers and professors with high academic degrees working at the institution. The second criterion was the ratio of students with the best high school graduation results choosing a given institution.

Hvg also asked István Stumpf about the model change of universities in Hungary. In the past couple of years, the Hungarian government converted many universities into foundations.

The statesman responsible for the model change said that the fear of the model change has subsided. He thinks that the threat of autonomy is no longer a concern, and financing is higher than ever before.

Semmelweis University Budapest is in the top 40 universities of the world!

Financial Times: Corvinus Budapest in top 100 management schools of the world!

The list

According to Index, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) secured the first position in both the categories for instructors and for students.

On average, universities that employed more instructors with academic degrees secured higher positions on the list.

Only seven institutions have sixty per cent of full-time instructor positions with a high number of academic degrees (ELTE, BME, SOTE, PPKE, Debrecen, Szeged).

Hungary’s leading university has established a space science centre

However, it seems that Economics and Technology universities are exceptions to this rule as they often employ people who do not necessarily have high academic degrees but have substantial experience in their respective fields.

Compared to last year’s ranking, Eötvös Loránd University kept its leading position, with the Budapest University of Technology and Economics closely following. However, the University of Szeged took a big leap from fifth place to third this year.

Read alsoModern and traditional – This is what the campus of Pázmány Péter University will look like – PHOTOS

November 20, 2021

Online education not to come back in Hungary!

Asked about whether online education could make a comeback, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said: “if schools stop, everything stops”. Conditions are in place for classrooms to remain open, he said. Pending the decision of the European authorities, approval for vaccination of children under the age of 12 years could arrive in December, he added.

Commenting on statements made by Péter Márki-Zay, the opposition alliance’s prime ministerial candidate, who has cast doubt on the government’s scheme to regulate utility bills, Gulyás, referring to the former Socialist prime minister, said “Ferenc Gyurcsány’s candidate” had admitted to continue with policies pursued between 2002 and 2010 when the price of electricity doubled and the price of gas tripled. The average Hungarian household would pay 400,000 forints more each year if market prices were passed on to them.

Asked in more detail about vaccination, he said the government would work towards making sure that state administration staff who are in contact with the public will have had three vaccinations.

Concerning teachers, no decision has been made regarding booster shots.

The vaccination rate among teachers is around 87 percent, he added.

Márki said it was worth holding events that are accessible using an immunity card, adding that this would also send a message that inoculation is truly protective.

Meanwhile, Hungary, he confirmed, is sending ten doctors to Slovenia to help amid the serious epidemic there.

Read alsoFrom Saturday wearing masks in enclosed spaces will be compulsory in Hungary!

November 19, 2021

Minister: Hungary will not let LGBTQ lobby into schools!

Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Thursday that she is scheduled to meet European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, who visits each European Union member state “in the spirit of the rule of law dialogue”.

“We have always been open when it came to the rule of law, we’ve never sold a pig in a poke. Our arguments are clear and straightforward: we reject double standards,” she said on Facebook in an English-language post.

“I believe Commissioner Reynders’ visit will serve as a great opportunity to clarify a few pressing issues:

It is time for Brussels to end its campaign launched against our Child Protection Act.

No one can meddle in how Hungarian parents raise their children. We won’t let any sexual propaganda into schools, not even the LGBTQ lobby,” Varga said.

“People are entitled to that: Hungarians have worked for it, don’t stand in the way of the Recovery and Resilience Facility resources!”, she added.

Varga said

“Words matter: stop threatening with the conditionality regulation, the Commission must stick to the agreement reached last December!”

We do not want to live in a European empire, says Hungarian justice minister

“The moral moment has come: it is time to withdraw all the infringement proceedings launched against us because of our migration policy. We have created a trend: today, they follow the Hungarian example on the continent,” she added.

“We issued the invoice: we have defended the whole of Europe and spent billions on border protection and consequently on the security of the whole of the Union. We call on the Commission to take its share of the funding of the Polish and Lithuanian border barrier,” she said. “We have always been ready for dialogue, the ball is now in Brussels,” she added.

Read alsoMinister: “we won’t allow LGBTQ propaganda in our schools and kindergartens!”

November 11, 2021

The fourth wave is expected to break out in these Hungarian cities

The concentration of the virus’s genetic material is constantly rising in the wastewater in Hungary. The National Public Health Center said that the tendency was expected to continue. Meanwhile, almost 100 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 8,434 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

Teachers slam obligatory vaccination

According to portfolio.hu, the fourth wave is expected to break out in Győr, Kaposvár, Kecskemét, Nyíregyháza, Salgótarján, Szolnok, Tatabánya, Veszprém and the agglomeration surrouding Budapest. That is because, in the samples from these cities, the concentration of the genetic material is already high, and is expected to increase.

Meanwhile, one of the trade unions of the Hungarian teachers wants the government to

provide free testing instead of prescribing obligatory vaccination in state-run institutions of education.

They said that the government issued two decrees. One of them concerns the teachers working in public schools and prescribes mandatory vaccination for everybody. The other is for schools run by local governments, churches, or foundations, where the leader of the institution can decide whether they introduce obligatory vaccination or not. The trade union said that if the government did not prescribe obligatory vaccination even for the teachers working in the latter branch of education, unvaccinated teachers would move to work in schools where the jab is not mandatory – portfolio.hu wrote.

Hungarian infectious disease specialist: new restrictions may come

Almost 100 people died in Hungary in COVID-related illnesses

According to MTI, altogether 98 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 8,434 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 5,981,915 people have received a first jab,

while 5,760,912 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 1,431,000 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

The number of active infections stands at 78,025, while hospitals are treating 4,830 Covid-19 patients, 463 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 923,020 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 31,619. Fully 813,376 people have made a recovery. There are 32,950 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 7,677,571.

Read alsoWill mandatory vaccination shut down the Hungarian public transport?

November 10, 2021

High-speed railway between Budapest and Warsaw to cut travel time from 12 to 5 hours

Trade turnover between the Visegrád Group (V4) countries and South Korea grew by 40 percent over the past five years, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday, expressing hope that their cooperation could soon expand to the areas of science and technology as well.

Addressing a joint press conference of the V4 leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in after their summit in Budapest, Orbán said the central European economies had “strong years behind them” and good prospects, while South Korea was “a world champion” in economic growth and technological development.

The prime minister referred to the summit as “a meeting of five success stories”.

Trade turnover between the V4 and South Korea even increased “in the black year for the global economy that was 2020”, reaching 20 billion US dollars for the first time, Orban said.

South Korea has a GDP of 1,600 billion dollars, while the V4 have a combined GDP of 1,100 billion dollars, Orbán noted. “If we were one country, then the V4, like Korea, could be a member of the G20,” he said.

Breaking – Korea to set up a large university campus in Budapest

Orbán said the reason behind the timing of Thursday’s summit was that all five countries believed that a new global economic order was taking shape and there was fierce competition for production capacities given that

after the pandemic, factories were not being reopened in the same countries where they had closed.

Most of those capacities are being taken elsewhere, “and we, the V4 have entered this competition and want to attract as big a share as possible of global investments”, Orbán said. South Korea is known for being a leader in innovation and the V4 want to take advantage of the emerging new era of the global economy, he added.

Orbán said the V4 leaders had asked Moon to

keep an eye on Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia’s biggest joint project that was the construction of the high-speed rail line connecting their capitals.

The 800 km line will cut travel time between Budapest and Warsaw from 12 hours to five, he said, and expressed hope that the project would attract the interest of South Korea’s industrial sector.

He said the V4 were hopeful that their cooperation with South Korea could expand beyond the economy to the areas of science and technology as well.

Orbán said it was “an honour” for the V4 that the South Korean president had joined their summit. “This is especially so for Hungarians because we see our peoples as being related,” he said. He noted that

Hungary first established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Korea in 1892.

Another unique aspect of the talks, Orban said, was that they had welcomed a president who himself had fought for freedom and democracy. Thursday’s talks also touched on global issues like climate policy and the situation in Afghanistan, Orbán said.

Read alsoPM Orbán admires the success story of South Korea

November 4, 2021

Hungary projects to launch 10 military high schools by 2030 – PHOTOS

According to a press release by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, the Hungarian Government intends to establish several military high schools by 2030.

Telex reports that there are currently two military high schools operating in the country. The first such institution was the Károly Kratochvil Military Academy which was founded in Debrecen in 1992. The number of military high schools has increased by the Kálmán Mikecz Military Academy in Nyíregyháza this summer. According to the government, the third military high school will open its gates to students in the next school semester.

Hvg says that students can apply to the cadet vocational and general knowledge training at the Hódmezővásárhely Military High School in the 2022/2023 school year. The institution will provide students with vocational cadet training for automotive mechatronics technician, infocommunication network building and operation technician training, general knowledge military cadet training, and intensive English language classes.

In total, the government aims to establish 10 military high schools by 2030.

The military institutions will operate with a similar system to vocational high schools. Students can apply to the military high schools typically at age 14 when they have finished eighth grade which is considered the end of the primary school education in Hungary.

Hungary will spend over € 2.8 billion on the country’s defence forces

18-year-old Hungarian high school student wins prestigious British essay competition

How does it work?

In order to be accepted to the high school, students are required to take the regular central written and oral examination which takes place after the eighth grade. However, on top of that, they also have to undergo a physical fitness assessment, says Telex.

In the Hódmezővásárhely Military High School, students will be housed in the barracks of the Hungarian Defence Force’s 5^th Bocskai István Shooting Brigade unit. The barracks will serve as the dormitory for the students.

According to the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, these institutions will follow the boarding school system and provide students with advanced military education. The students, however, will not receive military training and nor will they be eligible for the military status. It will not be mandatory for them either to advance into any military profession in the future.

Just like in regular vocational schools, the cadets can take graduation tests and apply to any civilian higher education institution they like after their high school studies.

The government’s objective is to introduce the military career to young people and encourage them to become volunteer reserves. If a person has been a volunteer for six months, he will receive 16 extra points when applying to a higher education institution. However, students can gain as many as 64 extra points by completing military service, Telex says.

Read alsoCutting-edge Hungarian armoured vehicle factory could create 500 new workplaces – PHOTOS

Read alsoSemmelweis University Budapest is in the top 40 universities of the world!

November 3, 2021

Ultramodern school recruits teachers in Hungary

The new school will accept students from 2022. Project-based learning and cooperative learning techniques will be part of the curriculum. Digital devices will also be part of education rather than being forbidden in the classroom.

Biatorbágy Innovative Technical School and Grammar School (BIT) is the result of a 15 billion forint investment. The building will be on a 2.5-hectare land, providing 11,000 square metres of modern environment to students and teachers alike, writes vg.hu.

Teachers’ recruitment has already started. In 2022, about 12-15 teachers will be needed. Later, their number will rise to 60-80 if plans go well.

Shocking numbers – Hungarian teachers’ salaries raise concerns

The goal is to make sure that the classrooms are as innovative as possible. The interior is designed to give opportunities for using various teaching methods. The designer studio focused on providing every student with the possibility of using digital tools.

In the first school year, students can enrol in two different classrooms: a regular class and a finance and accounting class. Later, the educational institution will list one class with a specialisation in logistics and one in IT. In the future, 500 students will be able to study at BIT.

The school portrays itself as a hub for quality education, based on the needs of students.

Hungary is losing its best high school students to foreign universities!

“BIT builds on the most modern international and domestic models,” they write. The school wants to incorporate the world-renowned Danish vocational training system’s good practices and innovation. They would also cooperate with Danish institutions.

According to the school’s website, it will be easier for their students to study Economics at university. At the end of the five years of high school, they will receive a high school diploma and a technician certificate. The most valuable opportunity is that students can get a scholarship. In the case of dual training, the company will offer a job contract, meaning that students will earn money.

Read alsoFor the first time, Hungarian students receive compensation for discrimination in Romania

October 31, 2021