The Hungarian public education system has by now shed most of its inherited problems, Minister of State for Public Education Rózsa Hoffmann said on the second day of the 14th Educatio International Education Fair on Friday.

The Fair brings together over 100 participating institutions in the Hungarian capital’s largest indoor arena: all higher education institutions are represented, as well as producers of books and other teaching materials, language schools and research institutions.

The fair also helps future students to choose the best university for their career and training needs. Ms. Hoffmann said at the fair that when the current administration came to power in 2010, the education system was fraught with problems, such as unbalanced financing, a lack of professional management, insufficient quality control, low teacher authority and an unnecessarily fragmented system.

She said that in the past three years the Government has managed to adopt most legislation elements crucial for the overhaul of the education system, adding that the current government’s point of view is that education is not a service, but rather a public service and that all pupils deserve access to uniform, high quality education. The Minister of State said that from 2015 the compulsory age for kindergarten attendance will be three years, and in order to ensure this, 12,000 new kindergarten places have already been created and by 2015 the system will be able to accommodate all children.

Among the changes, she also mentioned the introduction of daily physical education, ethics and religious education, and compulsory community work for school children. Hoffmann said the creation of the Klebelsberg Institute freed schools from most of their administrative work.

Among the new legislative steps, she mentioned the Public Education Act and the National Curriculum. She said teachers now needed to familiarize themselves with the new curriculum. She also said that the number of textbooks has been reduced, prices have also been reduced and that this year 708,000 students received their textbooks free of charge.

The Minister of State said that last September 160,000 teachers had received an average wage increase of 34 percent, with a second pay rise scheduled for this September. Among the administration’s future plans, she mentioned the reform of the graduation system, art education and on overview of the dormitory system.

(Ministry of Human Resources)