Péter Takács, the interior ministry’s state secretary for health care, signed a strategic agreement with representatives of advocacy groups on Friday.
“We are looking for ways to provide the highest possible financial and moral compensation for health specialists,” the state secretary said. “It’s not enough to have good ideas; those need to be made a reality in cooperation with the stakeholders.” Takács said the advocacy groups were “tough negotiators, but all the more constructive”.
“The agreement will serve as a solid foundation enabling us to fight shoulder to shoulder for modern health care with a human face,” he said. The agreement was signed by Ágnes Cser, head of health-care and social workers’ union MSZEDDSZ, Zoltán Balogh, head of the Hungarian Chamber of Health-care Workers, and Lajos Toma, head of the Independent Trade Union of Ambulance Workers.
Momentum MEP: Education should create opportunities
Good education creates opportunities, and the Momentum Movement is preparing to govern with education in focus, the party’s MEP, Anna Donáth, told a conference in Budapest on Friday. At the conference organised by Momentum, the Tomorrow’s Hungary association and the Renew Hungary party family of the European Parliament, Donáth said such governance required “generous financing” and autonomy for schools and teachers, as well as high-quality, constantly renewed trainings for teachers.
Solving the “gravest crisis in Hungary, that of education” would ease others such as the cost of living crisis, she said. She said the lack of teachers was “dramatic” in Hungary. According to a European Commission survey, the number of weak-performing Hungarian students has grown “to a brutal degree” between 2011 and 2021, she said.
Momentum will aim to raise the funding of public education from 4.5 percent to 7 percent of GDP. Teachers’ wages should be raised to 100 percent of the minimum wage of degree holders, she added. Momentum has turned to the EC with a request to make the payment of EU funds to Hungary conditional on a public education reform. The party also launched a signature drive to support the proposal, she added.
The Hungarian government is calling on the parliament, government, and president of Ukraine to “stop curbing the rights of the Hungarian minority” and restore the rights ethnic Hungarians earlier enjoyed, Tamás Menczer, state secretary at the foreign ministry, told a press conference on Thursday.
Menczer also called on the European Union to put the issue on its agenda and “take meaningful steps” aimed at restoring the rights of Ukrainian Hungarians.
Concerning Ukraine’s recently changing its education, language, and minority laws, Menczer said the measures were “obviously well-designed and interconnected, fully in contravention with Ukraine’s bilateral and international agreements, and all European values”.
Menczer said the education law deprived Hungarian students of the possibility of learning in Hungarian. Under the law, ethnic Hungarian children will have to learn in Ukrainian at least 20 percent of their classes from the fifth grade on, 40 percent from the ninth grade and 60 percent from the tenth grade, he insisted, adding that the minimum ratio could be increased by each school.
He said the political aim of the law was that all students should learn to speak Ukrainian. “It will not be achieved, since a language can only be taught in language classes,” he said. He suggested that Ukraine’s goal was to suppress Hungarian education, “another step in the assimilation of Transcarpathian Hungarians”. He also insisted that contrary to earlier reports, application of the law had not been postponed by one year and it would take effect this September for the fifth and sixth grades.
Under the law, ethnic Hungarian schools will “cease to exist as such . they will become Ukrainian schools in which certain subjects will be taught in Hungarian,” Menczer said.
On the subject of the language law, Menczer said it would restrict the use of the mother tongue “in other areas of life” , making it mandatory to speak Ukrainian “in public life, culture, the media, as well as in offices”.
The Venice Commission has recently studied the two laws and established that they “go against European values and rules”, Menczer said. According to the CoE position, Ukraine could “only become a member of the EU if it completes its rules for ethnic minorities in line with the CoE’s recommendations”, Menczer said.
The Hungarian government will not support Ukraine’s EU and NATO integration as long as that country continues curbing the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority and refuses to reintroduce its earlier rights, Menczer said.
He noted the Hungarian government’s “serious conflicts” with Ukraine before the war over the ethnic minority’s rights, but “the Hungarian party was willing to set aside the issue when the war broke out, but it regrets to see that acts against Transcarpathian Hungarians and curbing their rights systematically goes on,” the state secretary said.
The Wekerle Sándor Üzleti Főiskola (Wekerle Business School) is the first Western investment of a Chinese private schooling group helped by the Chinese government. Wekerle offers careers in China and language programs. Interestingly, the operator of the Hungarian institution has a Communist party committee.
According to eduline.hu, it did not gain much publicity that a Chinese group bought the company behind the Wekerle Business School in Budapest. The new owner is the Hope Education Group, one of China’s biggest private schooling companies. Now Wekerle offers careers in China, language programs, master’s degree programs in Malaysia, and EUR 4,000 scholarships that await even Chinese students in their campus in Europe’s heart.
Interestingly, the Chinese private education company has its own Communist Party committee, follows the education policies of the Chinese Communist Party and even trains young Marxists in China. In 2016, a new investor put money into the education group, Everbright Holdings. Everbright is China’s oldest and largest state-owned financial conglomerate. Thanks to that investment, the schooling group could expand abroad.
The Chinese private schooling group has two institutions outside China: in Malaysia and Thailand. The Hungarian Wekerle is their third foreign acquisition and the first in Europe. The Hungarian government negotiated about establishing a campus for China’s Fudan University in South Budapest. Opposition parties protested, but the project was halted because of the Orbán administration’s investment stop due to economic problems.
The government has initiated an extraordinary session of parliament on Friday to discuss the new law on teachers’ career paths, as well as amendments to legislation on local taxes, the rights of ethnic minorities, as well as mining and sustainable development.
According to a letter of Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén posted on parliament’s website, the session would serve the “speedy adoption of those proposals”.
Deferring the vote to the autumn session would delay important legislative goals, he said.
The proposed amendment on teachers’ career paths would “lay the foundations for the professional and social appreciation of teachers, as well as for further substantial wage hikes,” the interior ministry, which submitted the proposal, has said. The amendment would change teachers’ employment status, their working hours, and introduce a performance-based salary system, among other measures, it said.
There is already a big teacher shortage, meaning thousands of teachers are missing from the Hungarian education system, but the government’s planned changes would see even more teachers leave. As we wrote before, last time, student organisations, teachers’ union demonstrate against law on teachers’ careers on June 5, details HERE. Teachers are organising a demonstration on Friday to protest against the “revenge law” again.
The proposed amendment on local taxes would ban local authorities from taxing farmland.
The amendments on the rights of ethnic minorities would amend the election law in line with the proposals of the ethnic minority governments.
Parliament‘s spring session is slated to end on Thursday, June 15.
Investing in families means investing in the future, government spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said in Koroleve (Királyháza), in western Ukraine, on Friday, at the inauguration of a kindergarten constructed in the government’s kindergarten development programme.
The government is committed to the family as the key unit of society and the nation, she said.
Fostering a network of education institutions ensures that children “can remain Hungarian, and that the Hungarian culture will be preserved”, she said.
At times of war, such inaugurations are symbolic, she said. “We build walls of kindergartens and schools instead of erecting walls between people,” she added. The kindergarten was fully reconstructed with a HUF 25 million (EUR 67,700) government grant, and will receive 18 children.
Ukrainians fleeing the war can always count on Hungary, she said. Humanitarian aid is ongoing, and will continue as long as the country is in trouble, she said. Hungary’s government has a vested interest in a ceasefire and peace, because that is the only way to save lives, she added.
The Hungarian capital, Budapest is home to many internationally recognised, high-class universities. These educational facilities range from technical institutions, through social science studies, all the way to medical faculties. Both the number of English-language courses and the number of young foreigners studying in the city is constantly growing every year. Have a look at the best Hungarian universities below!
Here at Daily News Hungary, we have gathered some of the more important universities that offer programmes in English, in case you are considering to pursuing higher education in Hungary.
Budapest Corvinus University (BCE) is one of the most prestigious Hungarian universities renowned for its programmes in economics, business administration and social sciences. It is located in the heart of Budapest, offering a vibrant and stimulating academic environment for students.
Full time English language courses at BCE include:
The Applied Economics BSc programme makes you familiar with many exciting tasks: How to model the real world? How to develop your data analysis skills and quantitative competences? How to improve your problem-solving abilities and critical thinking? It includes studying a wide variety of concepts, participating in major group projects and presentations – making you the perfect asset to any company, public or private organisation.
This programme will prepare you for an international business career, in many types of organisations, many sectors, all over the world. You will study all aspects of business, including marketing, finance and management and apply your knowledge cross-culturally, on a global scale.
This Master’s programme in Diplomacy is the only one of its kind in Hungary.
Diplomacy explores negotiation between governments and conflict resolution. You will learn about how international governments influence, work together or against each other. By the end of the programme, you will be equipped to communicate and negotiate proactively, to promote the interests of any country or organisation you may represent at various international fora and work efficiently in a multicultural environment.
Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) is a prestigious public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. Founded in 1635, it is one of the oldest and largest universities in Hungary, with a rich history and tradition of academic excellence. ELTE offers a wide range of study programmes across various fields of study, including humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, education, informatics and business.
The goal of this programme is to offer to students the opportunity to develop specialised knowledge in international politics, security studies, EU politics, ethnic conflict, global justice and human rights. It enables them to understand and analyse complex political and social dynamics that go beyond state borders and cultural boundaries. The structure of the programme offers to students the opportunity to choose from a wide range of elective seminars, following introductory courses in the first academic year.
The goal of the programme is to train students to become professionals in the theoretical foundations and basic methods of psychology and offer insights into the applied branches of the discipline, such as possessing skills and techniques that can be used to measure, explore and develop the behavioural and mental processes of individuals, groups and organisations through behavioural measurement or other key indicators. Students obtain an integrated knowledge of education, communication, socialisation, learning and human development.
The aim of the programme is to train broad-based area experts by providing a comprehensive and wide-ranging knowledge of the Central European region. Some courses deal with the region’s history, cultures, languages, literary traditions and societies; other subjects focus on past and present political systems, geopolitical factors, economies, international relations, minorities and minority politics, cities and urban architecture. There is an emphasis on the common heritage of Central Europe, but the curriculum also provides an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the histories and current characteristics of individual countries.
Semmelweis University, located in Budapest, Hungary, is one of the leading medical Hungarian universities in the country and in Central Europe. It was founded in 1769 and is named after Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician known for his pioneering work in the field of hygiene and the prevention of childbed fever.
Doctors of General Medicine are concerned with the structure and function of the human body, the description of diseases and the therapies and research applied. After graduation, a Doctor of General Medicine can enter a specialist training program and/or join a doctoral programme in medical research.
Dentists provide basic preventive and curative care for dental and oral patients. They oversee dental checkups, emergency care and provide treatments for a multitude of dental ailments such as toothaches, inflamed gums and cavities among other things. After graduation, a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry can start practising dentistry or enter into postgraduate Speciality or PhD trainings.
Dieticians are experts of human nutrition who use their evidence-based knowledge about healthy diet to design and implement diet therapy for diseases caused by improper nutrition. They work either independently or as part of a medical team, and their tasks include individual and group counselling, preventing nutrition-related chronic and non-contagious diseases, creating diet plans according to the client’s sensitivity and health issue.
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), commonly referred to as the Budapest University of Technology, is one of the most distinguished technical Hungarian universities in Central Europe. It was founded in 1782 and is located in Budapest.
Computer Engineering is designed to give students a thorough understanding of the tools, methods, applications and practice of computer science and information technologies. It is both focused and practical in its orientation, with the goal to provide an education that is directly applicable to various positions in the industry. It is an integrated curriculum consisting of courses developed for the deeper theoretical understanding of the foundations of computer science, as well as for obtaining practical knowledge and skills required by industrial applications in the complex field of information technologies.
Electrical Engineering is designed to give students a thorough understanding of the tools, methods, applications, and practice of Electrical Engineering. It is both focused and practical in its orientation, with the goal to provide an education that is directly applicable to high-level positions in the industry. The major specialisations in Electrical Engineering are Sustainable Electric Energetics, Embedded and Control Systems and Info-communication Systems.
The programme focuses on training highly professional experts in architectural engineering who are aware of the social and cultural implications of their profession. Versatility is emphasised so that students will gain fundamental knowledge and abilities in every possible field of architecture and be able to find work in a highly competitive job market, and in any building- or design-related area of consulting, construction and management.
Budapest Metropolitan University, also known as Budapest MET or METU, is one of the best private Hungarian universities located in Budapest, Hungary. It was founded in 2000 and has since become one of the leading higher education institutions in the country. MET offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programmes in various fields, including business, communication, tourism, arts, social sciences and international relations.
If you are interested in the various fields of graphics, are creative, have good visual sense and drawing skills, and are familiar with the basic computer graphics software and are interested in typography, this programme is for you. In the age of desktop publishing (DTP), graphic design became the most innovative branch of design, with a strong presence of its intellectual products in everyday life, both in the online and offline media. In these fields, the program will introduce you to the secrets of the various surfaces and media of graphic design, from illustration to book, identity and poster design, branding, logos, pictograms and packaging design.
If you are interested in the film and media, your way of thinking is creative and original, and you would like to develop your skills on a high level, this programme is for you.You can acquire comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge on the areas of motion picture and media. During the course, you will get a general picture of the theoretical and practical opportunities of filmmaking, and an insight into certain sections of the profession. By the end of the course, you will have a secure theoretical and practical knowledge about the features of visual communication, and you will be able to create films and media productions.
This is for you if you are interested in different cultures and destinations, as well as travelling and languages. It’s also beneficial if you are a creative thinker who is interested in undertaking project-based learning and applying your theoretical knowledge to real case studies and if you have interest in leading and managing destinations, attractions or employees in the tourism, cultural, creative or hospitality sectors.
The Adom student organisation, teachers’ union PDSZ and the Civil Public Education Platform led a demonstration against planned legislation on teachers’ career paths on Monday.
Protesters gathered in Oktogon Square in the afternoon and marched to the building of the Interior Ministry.
There, Katalin Tarnai of PDSZ said students and parents had realised that they are on the same side as teachers in striving for European-quality education in Hungary.
She called on teachers to stay united and to join PDSZ. Ministry statements of “invisible wage raises cannot be taken seriously,” she said.
Teacher Alexandra Pál said the government “has been ignoring teachers for a year and a half.”
Teachers are now fighting to be able to give their opinions, to be involved in negotiations, and to receive living wages, she said.
At the end, the teachers fired for participating in recent protests and strikes were called up to the stage.
As we wrote on May, Anti-government demonstration was held in Budapest, clashes with police – Photos
Interior Minister Sándor Pintér has invited all parliamentary parties to a consultation on the new legislation on teachers’ career path, to be held on Wednesday.
The consultation will come after three months of “comprehensive consultation with professional organisations and society” on the matter, a foundation of teachers’ “significant wage increases”, the interior ministry said in a statement on Friday. Pinter invited representatives of Fidesz-Christian Democrats (KDNP), the Democratic Coalition (DK), the Socialists, Momentum, Jobbik and Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland), it said.
The ministry hopes that “leftist parties are willing to engage in calm, constructive dialogue rather than fueling demonstrations often ending in violence, and working openly to obstruct the payment of the EU monies that would fund wage hikes,” the statement added. The ministry has adopted the proposals of trade unions, the National Teachers’ Council and other professional and civil organisation on dozens of points in the past months. Until Hungary receives the European Union funding “the country is entitled to”, the government will raise teachers’ wages by 10 percent, starting in January. Once the resources are accessible, teachers could see the “largest wage hike since the change of regime”, which would bring their average wages above 800,000 forints (EUR 2,100) a month by 2026, the statement said.
The amendment would also simplify teachers’ career path, establish a performance evaluation system and a change in their employment status. Their administrative burdens would decrease, it said.
Student organisations held a demonstration in Budapest on Friday, protesting for wage hikes for teachers, and called for the withdrawal of planned changes to their employment status and other planned regulations.
Huge demonstration in Budapest
Protesters marched from Kossuth Square in front of Parliament to Oktogon Square, carrying banners reading “History is written by youth”, “We also have a heartbeat” and “All power belongs to the people”, and waving EU, Hungarian flags, as well as those representing the teachers’ movements. Flags of the Tanítanék movement and teachers’ trade unions were also to be seen. Opposition politicians Ákos Hadházy (independent), Bence Tordai and Tíma Szabó of Párbeszéd, András Fekete-Győr, Anna Orosz and Miklós Hajnal of Momentum were also joined the protest, among others.
Clashes with police
Budapest police (BRFK) have reported that a small group of demonstrators had tried to disrupt the demo. After the demonstration, a smaller group marched to the headquarters of ruling Fidesz near Heroes’ Square, where police have cordoned off both sidewalks. BRFK reported that some protesters were trying to “intentionally provoke” police. Participants of the “unlawful protest” have tried to push through the police line and threw bottles and other objects, while verbally provoking them, the statement said.
Commenting on the demonstration, ruling Fidesz said the party was fully on board with the notion of a wage hike for teachers. “Leftist politicians earn 5-6 million a month to stop teachers getting 800,000 forints,” the party said in a statement. Had Hungary received the EU funds it is “entitled to”, teachers would have already had their raise, the party said. Leftist politicians drawing large salaries are working in the EU to block those resources, the statement said.
ELTE has again this year been ranked 517th out of 20,000 universities in the CWUR Global Higher Education Ranking, placing it in the top 2.6% of universities in the world, and has maintained its leading position in the higher education rankings in Hungary since 2014.
On 15 May, the Center for World University Rankings published its 2023 World University Rankings, which this year already covered more than 20,000 institutions. Since 2012, CWUR has ranked the world’s higher education institutions on the basis of teaching quality, graduate employability, teaching excellence, highly cited publications and citations.
First place went to Harvard University and second place to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stanford University came third, but two English universities also made the top 5: Cambridge and Oxford
In the 2023 global ranking,
Eötvös Loránd University retained its 517th position even as the field expanded.
ELTE is ranked in the top 2.6% of universities worldwide and has been the leading university in Hungary since 2014. The result puts ELTE in 206th place in the European ranking, in the same category as the University of Ferrara, the University of Siena, the University of Hannover, the University of Potsdam, the University of Zagreb and the École normale supérieure de Lyon in France.
In Hungary, Semmelweis University (669th), the University of Szeged (708th), the University of Debrecen (753rd), the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (947th), the University of Pécs (1166th) were also among the best, while the editors of the ranking also included CEU, which came in at 1778th place.
The results by geographical location are also available on the CWUR website, and more information on ELTE’s national and international rankings can be found here.
Ethnic Hungarian weekend schools are getting stronger around the world and their number is on the increase, an official of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.
Deputy state secretary Péter Szilágyi told a conference held in Budapest for voluntary teachers of ethnic Hungarian weekend schools that they now operate at pre-Covid levels, even exceeding these in many places. The ministry knows of some 250 schools and communities of children operating in ethnic Hungarian diasporas, and it maintains active links with 150 ethnic Hungarian weekend schools, he said. They operate even in far-away locations, he said, citing Tokyo, Abu Dhabi and Singapore where regular Hungarian classes started in 2022.
He highlighted the strengthening of the ethnic Hungarian school of Columbia and expressed thanks to all the teachers working in such schools. Tenders have been invited since 2018 for supporting diaspora Hungarians and their organisations, and weekend schools are getting help under a dedicated scheme starting from this year, he said.
Funding is available for teachers and educational experts for further training, the acquisition and distribution of textbooks, and for renting space for educational activities. Resources are also offered for weekend schools to develop links between each other, organise study trips and participate in study competitions. The application deadline is June 5 and implementation period is January 1 to December 31, he said.
Teachers’ trade union PSZ will appeal to the Kúria (supreme court) against the National Election Committee’s recent decision to throw out their referendum initiative, the union said on Wednesday.
PSZ deputy leaders Gábor Gosztonyi and Tamás Totyik initiated a referendum in March, with questions concerning the qualification of teachers, the number of classes at school, as well as school closures. The election committee, however, did not approve of the initiative, saying that answering the questions would need “special information, which cannot be expected from voters … and they could therefore not assess the ramifications of their decision”.
Gosztonyi and Totyik said voters “must not be treated as children”, adding that the government was “afraid of a real consultation” with the people. A referendum, they insisted, would provide “meaningful answers to meaningful questions concerning major issues determining the future of students and that of Hungary“.
Good weather is here, there are only 1,5 months left from the school year and summer break is getting closer day by day. Schoolkids can’t wait for school to be over; however, for parents planning their kids’ summer programme is often a headache. There are thousands of summer camps they can send their children to, yet, it is hard to make a decision and one can easily get lost in the array of options. In our article, we try to help parents with summarizing what summer camps are available abroad.
When it comes to summer programmes outside of Hungary, the first thing we need to decide is the destination. This can be determined either by the foreign language one wants to improve – English, German, Italian, Spanish or French, or the type of activity a person would like to spend his time with. There are several language camps available in the UK, but also in Spain, Malta, and Cyprus. For those willing to work on their German, Italian or French language skills, schools offer summer options in Germany, Austria, Italy and France. There are also many opportunities for students who wish to travel overseas for the summer holiday: camps in the US or in Canada. Different countries offer different experiences. For example, those who prefer seaside destinations with swimming, sailing and surfing as activity programs should choose Malta, Cyprus or the French or American coast. Students who love spending time outdoors would find amazing opportunities in the Austrian Alps. No matter what one prefers, there is a camp for everyone.
It is also important to note that there are several different kinds of summer camps. The most general one is the „language + fun” type of camp, where children have their language classes in the morning – in groups according to age and language level, and activity programmes in the afternoons and in the evenings (sports, creative and performing arts, city visits, hiking etc.). This type of programme is suitable for anyone who would like to improve their language skills, travel, have fun and make friends from all over the world. Those who already have a good command of English and have a specific interest, can also find something for themselves. There are summer courses with special topics like Sustainable Futures, Mini-MBA programmes, Fashion Design, Architecture, Business, Digitalisation and so on. These are perfect for those who would like to get immersed in a certain topic, or who would like to continue their studies at the university in a similar field. During these courses, participants improve their 21st century skills – collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity. For families who are thinking of sending their child to an international school program, there are Academic and IB camps available. Student can try what it feels like to be in an international school environment for a few weeks, before starting their studies abroad. 16-17 year-old teenagers who are planning to study abroad at university, Cambridge and IELTS language exam preparation courses are a great opportunity. Language courses for adults are also available at all levels, and in many languages.
No matter the age group, the language, the level and the acitivites, everyone can find a great summer programme to spend the summer in a useful, yet fun way. If anyone has trouble finding the right courses, Baltic Council for International Education is ready to help with any kind of summer school or camp application abroad (BALTIC COUNCIL – Külföldi oktatás).
A 14-year-old student girl was reportedly molested by a teacher at Budapest Ward Mária Primary and High School. According to sources, the said teacher repeatedly kissed and touched the underage pupil before action was taken by the police. Now there is an ongoing investigation into the crime of indecent assault.
The story goes back to the summer of 2022 when two fellow teachers reported their suspicious colleague to the principal. However, the parents were only informed by the police; the school’s leadership remained silent. Shockingly, the accused teacher wasn’t suspended with immediate effect following the report. He only left the institution two weeks ago, reports Telex.
No actions taken
The issue was brought to the parents’ attention in spring. That was when Luca (all the names involved have been changed for the purpose of defending the victim and her family), the victim told her parents that one of the teachers at her school had a “more intimate” relationship with some of his students, and many disliked him for this reason.
In the summer, after a school trip that both parties attended, two teachers notified the school’s leadership that their colleague was acting suspiciously, and an internal investigation was needed. Neither Luca nor her parents have been questioned throughout the proceedings. The investigation found no issue with the accused teacher, and he was allowed to keep working. However, the concerned teachers did not give up and contacted the operator of the school. They also filed a police report, before resigning.
Crime investigation
Kata, the mother of the student was only informed about the alleged crime by the police. They called her in August, as they wanted to interrogate Luca about the incident. That was when Luca told her parents that this teacher touched her multiple times, including her butt, and kissed and hugged her repeatedly out of school bounds.
“We don’t get it. If the police had information about what happened to my child, how come that the board of directors didn’t reach out to us to ask what may have happened?”
– asked Kata furiously.
After police interference, Luca was given permission to not attend further classes by this teacher. The family tried for 6 months to have him removed from her class but to no avail. In the end, Luca resorted to leaving the school. Finally, two weeks ago, the teacher was suspended.
School operator denies responsibility
Telex approached both the Congregatio Jesu convent, the previous operator of the school, and the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation of the Pannonhalmi Archabbey, the current one. In their mutual response, they expressed their shock and disbelief.
According to Congregatio Jesu, they were only informed about the situation in February 2023 by the parents. They knew about the report filed in August, however, they claim that at the time there was no reference to the crime of possible sexual abuse.
They further claim that they only learned about the serious gravity of the case on 27 March, through another letter they received from Luca’s parents. Following this event, they confronted the teacher and suspended him with the approval of the school’s leadership.
What’s next?
Kata says that a change in ownership was needed for actions to finally be taken. According to her, the school’s board of directors was aware of the situation but tried to conceal the facts. The parents made several attempts to get in contact with them, but their letters received no answers.
The mother is now worried that the teacher might continue his work at a different institution and could be a threat to other children as well. The V. District Police Precinct is conducting an investigation on the basis of the accusation of indecent assault. Due to the ongoing process, they did not share further information.
Five party groups of the European Parliament turned to the European Commission, expressing their concerns on amendments to Hungary’s Whistleblower Protection Act, which the national parliament adopted on April 11.
The letter signed by leaders of the Greens/EFA Group, the European People’s Party, the Renew Europe group, The Left Group and the Socialists and Democrats noted that the amendments allowed reports on “activities going against the Hungarian way of life and the Fundamental Law, including activities violating the constitutionally recognised role of marriage and the family”.
“We consider these provisions, once implemented, pose a serious threat to the rights of LGBTIQ people and to freedom of expression,” they said.
Further, the letter said Hungary’s draft law on the legal status of those employed in public education and the amendment of certain related laws would “drastically restrict the fundamental rights of the teachers, their freedom of expression, exceedingly decrease their professional autonomy and drastically curtail their labor rights including their right to strike.”
“In our view, [the legislation] clearly makes it impossible to give a positive assessment of the first payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Plan,” the letter said.
Signatories also called on suspending payments to Hungary under the EU’s ESF+ Programme, saying that Hungary had failed to meaningfully consult trade unions on teachers’ wage reform.
“Equality, human dignity and fundamental rights are the core of the founding of the EU, and we trust your commitment to take effective action when a Member State deliberately breaches these EU values,” the letter said.
As we wrote on Monday, teacher and student protesters scuffle with police, video.
A demonstration was held in Budapest on Monday in protest against draft legislation changing the employment status of teachers.
Protesters marched from downtown Kálvin Square to the building of the interior ministry chanting slogans such as “The status law is revenge law”, “General strike”, “Pintér resign” referring to the interior minister, and “police state is no rule of law”.
In front of the interior ministry on Roosevelt Square, Erzsébet Nagy of teachers’ union PDSZ called on the government to withdraw the draft, “as it aims not to improve education but to discipline teachers”.
Instead, the government should come up with legislation in line with its commitments to the European Union during negotiations on accessing its recovery and resilience funding, “which would improve public education and money would also flow in”, Nagy said.
Nagy noted that “all the large groups of the European Parliament” had turned to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a letter, asking that the EC put pressure on the government to withdraw the legislation.
After the demonstration in front of the ministry, some demonstrators marched to the prime minister’s office in the Castle District.
Protesters attempted to dismantle the cordon around Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s residence, but were prevented by police. Several people were taken away and tear gas was fired.
The crowd was repeatedly pushed against the police cordon and the cordon. “Orbán is a Russian glove puppet”, “Orbán, Lázár, Habony, disgusting snot”, “down with the police state”, “This is not child protection”, they chanted.
The Budapest police headquarters said late on Monday that an unregistered protest had been held at the prime minister’s office where many of the protesters acted aggressively with police who used tear gas against them.
Civilians organised an event entitled “0th Hour for Education” in front of the Ministry of the Interior building on Monday morning at 7:30 am.
Participants, including a number of politicians, teachers and students, silently protested on the spot, blocking the entrance to the ministry. As the demonstration had not been announced, the police asked the demonstrators to leave the area and ordered them to stop.
Ministry: Teachers set to receive further pay hikes
New draft legislation supporting the careers of teachers serves to improve the quality of public education, the interior ministry said on Monday, adding teachers could expect further wage hikes and streamlined advancement.
The ministry reacted to a statement by teachers’ union PDSZ and protests organised by the body on Monday.
The ministry said it has been in talks on the new draft legislation with the National Teachers’ Chamber and the National Public Education Council for a month and a half. The bills will be submitted to the government once the consultations are concluded, the statement said.
The draft proposals are aimed at establishing a new career model for teachers and improving the quality of public education, the ministry said. Children come first in education, it said, adding that teachers could expect further wage increases and streamlined advancement. Those who do a better job teaching and focus more on the children can earn more money, they said.
The ministry said it was “regrettable” that PDSZ, which “barely represents one percent of teachers”, continued to “act as a political organisation of the left, and organises strikes and demonstrations instead of being a professional partner in improving education for children, parents’ satisfaction and the situation of teachers together”.
The statement noted that the government raised teachers’ wages by 10 percent from January, but will bump them up to 21 percent retroactively “as soon as Hungary receives the European Union funding it is entitled to”. Wages may increase by 25 percent in 2024 and by up to 30 percent in 2025, compared with 2021 levels, it said.
The government is committed to having teachers’ wages reach 80 percent of the average wage of degree holders by 2025, it said.
As we wrote today, there is room for improvement in the school system, but do not underestimate, PM Orbán said. Details HERE.
The government is continuously reforming vocational training, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his opening address at the 16th festival for vocational schools in Budapest on Monday, adding that the number of vocational school applicants has been rising for years, and their academic performance was also improving.
Six out of ten students choose vocational training after elementary school, with technical schools being the most popular type of school, Orbán told the opening of the Vocational Star Festival (Szakma Sztár Fesztivál) organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK).
The introduction of dual vocational training has also proven useful, both for businesses and the country’s economic growth, the prime minister said. The rise in the number of applicants and the improving academic performances show that the new system has also worked out well for students and their families, he said.
Those who want further training can acquire middle management skills alongside their vocational qualifications, Orbán said, adding that those who complete a five-year programme have an advantage if they choose higher education with a specialisation.
Addressing students, Orbán said the key to success was curiosity, creativity, perseverance and cooperation.
Though schools and the school system are often criticised in Hungarian public discourse, even though there are improvements to be made, they should not be underestimated, the prime minister said.
Success by Hungarian students at home and in the international arena is a testament to Hungarian education, Orbán said, praising teachers for their support for students.
Orbán told students they did not have to leave Hungary, as Western and Eastern businesses are both present in the Carpathian Basin together with Hungarian companies.
Hungarian vocational and organisational skills, and will can be used to build a country that is a good place to live, work, start a family and raise children, Orbán said.
The prime minister thanked the teachers, mentors and staff working in the vocational training system and wished students, their teachers and families the best of luck.
As we wrote last week, the government is working to raise the monthly salaries of teachers by 75 percent to average 800,000 forints (EUR 2,144) by 2025, details HERE.