Education in Hungary
The social environment of education
The decline of Hungary's population that started in 1981 has also continued in recent years. According to the 2001 census, the population of Hungary was 10,198 thousand, about half a million less than the figure of twenty years earlier. By 2005 the population dropped to 10,077 thousand. The age pyramid of the Hungarian population is among the most irregular ones in Europe. On 1st January 2005, due to the extremely low number of live births in the preceding years the size of the 0-4-year-old population was smaller than the next age groups of five-year increments up to the age group 60-64. There are major differences in the size of the various generations.
The official language of instruction is Hungarian, but a number of ethnic and national minorities (e.g. German, Romanian, Slovene, Serb and Croatian) have minority educational institutions with their own languages as first or second language of instruction at primary and secondary level of teaching. According to the 2003 Roma survey, the rate of Roma children in the population entering school education in 2008-2009 is expected to be around 15%.[1]
Public education administration
Horizontally, the administrative responsibilities are shared between the Ministry of Education and other ministries (primarily the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Interior). Vertically, the administrative control is decentralized and the managing responsibility is shared among the central (national), the local (regional) and institutional levels.
The local governments administer pre-primary, primary and secondary education. The different establishments enjoy a fair degree of decision-making autonomy not only in terms of organization and functioning but also with regard to their budgets.
Most pupils attend public-sector schools, which are administered and organized by the public authorities, primarily the local governments. The financing of educational institutions is sector neutral. State and private institutions receive funding according to the same criteria.[2]
School system in Hungary
A special feature of the Hungarian education system is that institutional structures and the structure of educational programmes are not aligned with each other. The system's institutional structure and the presence of programmes allowing early selection show similarities with Central European and ex-socialist countries. The system's content structure, the uniform and general phase of education has extended, and secondary level education may be characterised by increased opportunities for transition. The general phase of education lasts until the age of 16 in Hungary's education system. Participation in secondary education, offering a wide variety of programmes, is fairly high. Within secondary education, the proportion of students studying in programmes leading to a secondary school-leaving certificate and offering transition to tertiary education is around the international average.[3]
Hungarian education and training programmes (ISCED-97)
Institutional setting of programme Programme destination and orientation Notes
Pre-school 0 School-based programme for children aged 3-7. Includes basic skills development, pre-reading, drawing, singing and school preparation.
General school 1AG General school primary level, Grades 1-4.
2AG General school lower secondary level, Grades 5-8.
Vocational training school (Apprenticeship training) 2BG Remedial programme for drop-outs and low achievers that provides a second chance for further education
2CV Vocational training school programmes preparing qualifications for trades identified in the National Register of Vocational Qualifications that do not require the completion of 10 years of general education for entry
3CG Vocational training school, Grades 9-10. General subject courses with vocational guidance preparing students for entering into programmes that require 10 years of general education
3CV 3-year apprenticeship training programmes according to the Education Act of 1985 starting after grade 8 of the general school. 1997/98 was the last year of new enrolments, because the new law does not allow dualsystem vocational education before age 16.
4CV Post-secondary vocational programmes where the entry requirement is the completion of secondary education
Special vocational training school 2CP Basic skills and labour market oriented development programme for students with special educational needs
General secondary school 2AG Grades 5-8, and 7-8 of the eight-grade and six-grade general secondary school
3AG General secondary education, grades 9-12 preparing students for secondary school final examination
Vocational secondary school 3AP Vocational secondary school programmes preparing students for secondary school final examination with pre-vocational elements, Grades 9-12 (13).
3BP Vocational secondary part-time programmes, Grades 9–12 (13) preparing for secondary school final examination with pre-vocational programme elements
4AG General secondary programme preparing for secondary school final examination for vocational training school graduates (3CV)
4CV Post-secondary vocational programmes where the entry requirement is a secondary school-leaving certificate
5B Non-university higher vocational training programmes leading to non-graduate vocational qualifications with credit courses acknowledged in higher education
College, university 5A College graduate education and post-graduate specialisation programmes, University graduate education, University supplementary (Master) programme for college graduates, Supplementary teacher training programme for engineers graduated incollege education, University post-graduate specialisation programme for university graduates
University 6 PhD courses, research work and dissertation DLA, doctoral degree in liberal arts
Source: Statistical Yearbook of Education 2002/2003, OM, 2003.
Notes: Destination for which the programmes have been designed to prepare students: A=access to further general education, B=access to further vocational education, C=access to the labour market. Orientation category is based on the degree to which content of programme has been specifically designed: G=general, P=pre-vocational, V=vocational.
Organisation of the educational system
Pre-primary education
This educational level is considered as a crucially important integrated part of the school system. It caters for children from 3 to 7 years of age. Participation in pre-primary education at this level (óvoda) is optional, except for the final year (beyond age 5), which is compulsory.
Public-sector institutions may only charge for services additional to their basic tasks, including for example extra-curricular activities, meals, excursions, etc. Currently, the attendance rate with regard to the age groups 3-5, is just above 86%. The average duration of participation of children aged 3-7 in pre-primary education is just over 3 years (3.3), which is the highest average value in Europe.[4]
Primary education
Children start primary school when they reach school-maturity, usually in the year in which they have their 6th birthday (7th if they were born after May 31).
Primary education can last for 4, 6 or 8 years. 8-year education is the most widespread; the other two options were introduced in the early 1990s.
Subjects include literature, grammar, mathematics, music, art, Physical education, environmental studies (from 1st to 5th grade), biology (from 6th grade), geography (from 6th grade), history (from 5th grade), history of art, physics (from 6th grade), chemistry (from 7th grade), one or two foreign languages (usually English, German or French). Before 1990 Russian was compulsory.
Secondary education
Secondary education usually lasts for 4 years. In gimnáziums it can also last for 5, 6 or 8 years depending on how many years the student spent in primary school. Since 1997 the numbering of years in secondary school are following that of primary school (i. e. after the 8th grade of primary school the student goes to 9th grade, which is actually the 1st year of secondary school.)
There are three kinds of secondary schools:
* Gimnázium (non-vocational; prepares students for higher education; teaches at least 2 foreign languages)
* Szakközépiskola (vocational school but also prepares for higher education)
* Szakiskola (vocational school)
After finishing secondary school, students take a school-leaving exam (Matura or final exam, érettségi in Hungarian). This consists from 2005 of exams on five subjects: written exam in mathematics, oral and written exams in literature and grammar, a foreign language, history, and written and/or oral exam in a subject of the student's choice. These exams also serve as an entry exam to universities and colleges.
New secondary form until the school year of 2004/2005
Many of the gimnáziums have begun to teach a foreign language intensively (usually 12-14 lessons a week) and IT (usually 3-4 lessons a week) in the first year. This is called nyelvi előkészítő évfolyam, literally "Language training class", or simply nulladik évfolyam. After 2005, students will have less foreign language lessons and IT.
At schools where there is no nulladik évfolyam (beginners classes), they may be required to introduce them because the majority of Hungarians do not speak more than one language, or only speak their parents language or dialect. Most students will finish High School at the age of 18 or 19, or when they complete Year 13.
Those who had at least an intermediate level language exam weren't required to pass a language exam at Matura, but has become compulsory since 2006. In language training classes, a student must pass an intermediate level language exam in the second year, and the same level Matura in the third year.
Higher education
Higher education is divided between colleges and universities. College education generally lasts for 4 years, while university education lasts for 4 to 6 years depending on the course undertaken. University PhD courses usually take 3 years to complete.
Before students get their degree, they must pass an intermediate level language exam in the foreign language of their choice. English and German are the most popular. The number of Spanish-learners has been growing in the last few years. Recently a high number of students chose Esperanto and Romani languages. The latter is said to have a relatively small vocabulary and easy grammar.