The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 26

The Hungarian students have chosen Article 26, because we think its content is a topical subject in today’s Hungary, and also because , being students, we all are closely affected by all the changes and reforms that take place in this field.

Like other European countries, Hungary

has to face a lot of social and economic problems due to the Global Financial Crisis, and education, which concerns all the population in the country, is one of the major sources of problems.

The Hungarian educational system is often changed and renewed. The laws and regulations are modified almost “daily”, so the situation does not have the “golden mean”, now we are up, next we are down. Unfortunately, these sharp changes cause the standard of education to fall, and this is the reason why the students are a lot less ambitious, dedicated and confident than they used to.

Like in many developed countries, there are fewer and fewer children in Hungary

. Young couples are afraid to have children, and the reason for this could be the low standard of living and the worse quality of life.

As there are fewer and fewer students, the primary schools in villages close down, and the children have to travel long distances to get to school.

True, if there were just a few students, the standard of education would be much higher; the teachers would have enough time to work with the children individually. This would be the ideal situation, but, unfortunately, the village cannot afford to run a school for them.

However, such schools do exist, very few though, mostly in big cities, but they are the fee-paying private schools, where the students can learn at their own pace, using the most modern equipment.

Another big problem in primary education, in our opinion is the integration of students with special needs into average classes. These children really need special treatment and different methods. They would need their own tutors, who, along with teaching, could develop their skills, but one teacher for a group of 20 students or more cannot pay enough attention to them. They need more time and energy to learn the same things as their classmates.

The segregation of students has been prohibited on Hungary

. We think it was a good decision, as no one should be discriminated because of their race, nationality and religion. All students have to have equal rights to study.

In Hungary primary education is compulsory, and the children usually learn there 8 years, from 6 to 14.  

The next type of school is secondary school. Unlike at primary schools, there is an entrance exam to some secondary schools, which make it possible to select the students. At secondary school they study until they are 18. Just like in many European countries, the school leaving age is 18, and the children have to stay at school until this age.  The stubborn fact is that this time is not always enough to acquire the appropriate knowledge and training, especially for the weaker students, so a large number of students leave school without any skill or qualification, and will have difficulty finding a job. In secondary education vocational training is becoming more and more important.

 olleges and universities are optional, but having a degree is certainly an advantage. Most colleges and universities provide high level training, and for a few years now they have been adjusted to the European system.

In higher education the students are divided into two groups, those who pay tuition fee, and those who do not - their studies are financed by the state.

The gap between the two groups is growing, as the fee-paying ones can get in with weaker results than those who cannot afford to pay tuition fees.

At university, if your results are good enough, you can apply for various scholarships and study abroad for a semester or two. These scholarships provide a great opportunity to learn foreign languages, which we badly need.

The task of schools is not only to teach academic subject, but also to teach the students how to get along when they grow up, to teach them to accept each other, to be tolerant and polite.

In the Hungarian educational system great changes took place after 1989, when the political system changed. Before these changes Hungary had been a people’s republic, a communist country, so everybody had to learn Russian as a foreign language – it was compulsory. At primary schools it was the only foreign language, at secondary school you could choose to learn another language along with Russian. Russian was not very popular, so the students did not learn it very hard. This could be the reason why Hungarian people, mainly the middle aged or elderly ones are so weak at foreign languages. The 20^th century was a hard time for the Hungarians. After the two world wars there was a revolution in 1956, but it did not win, and the restrictions remained. For example, people were only allowed to travel to western countries every three years. However, they travelled to East Germany

quite often.

Our parents often tell us stories about their working holidays in East Germany. When they were students, they used to spend a few weeks in so called “building camps” during their summer holidays either at home or abroad. They usually harvested fruit and had a lot of fun. In those days, students from our school used to travel to East Germany

to pick tomatoes. During these working holidays they not only worked, but travelled in the country, had parties, went hiking – so these camps were a memorable experience for them. 

But after these holiday experiences let’s go back to the subject of school.

Education in Hungary

has certainly improved since those days, but still, a lot could be done. We, students see the problem from a different angle than the officials at the Ministry of Education.

For example, despite the fact, that there are some scholarships for underprivileged children, still, there is not enough money for the development of talented students. The teachers’ salaries are falling, and the prices of textbooks and school-food are growing.

However, we think, there is a solution: parents teachers, school-leaders and government officials should listen to each other and work together. Everybody’s interests should b taken into consideration when creating laws and regulations. First of all, these laws should be constant, and should not change so often. The talented students should be supported both financially and professionally, and the underprivileged students should receive scholarships. Schools and their equipment should be renewed and developed.

More attention should be paid to teaching and learning foreign languages. It has been essential since Hungary

joined the European Union – you cannot get a university or college degree without passing a language state exam, and language proficiency can be decisive at a job interview, too.

We could talk about the subject for hours, but one thing is certain: we must never stop learning.

More information at our schools homepage: www.eszetamas.sulinet.hu/