Hungarian government initiates talks with student union on university scholarship reforms
The government is starting talks with the National Union of Students in Hungary (Hallgatói Önkormányzatok Országos Konferenciája, HÖOK) on university student scholarships, the state secretary for higher education and adult training said on Thursday.
Based on feedback from students, the government believes it is once again necessary to review the regulation and the per-student allocation of scholarships, Veronika Varga-Bajusz told a press conference on the sidelines of the international Educatio expo in Budapest.
She said that although the government was already spending close to 20 billion forints (EUR 48.2 million) a year on student scholarships based on academic performance and social needs, it was worth reviewing their regulation again. Varga-Bajusz said the government disbursed 11.1 billion forints of scholarship funding to 50,045 students in spring 2024.
Hungarian higher education institutions “are competitive in just about every academic field” having shifted from being state-run to being operated by foundations, the state secretary said, adding that the higher education reform offered students “countless career opportunities”.
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