The European Union’s Commissioner for Education paid special attention to the concerns that have been raised by Hungarian teachers, academics and students in a letter earlier this week. Sharing the concerns of the authors of the letter, the spokesman of Ms. Vassiliou said after the meeting today that the new laws on public and higher education might hinder the implementation of the headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy regarding drop-out rates and third-level education.
All these problems were formulated by the Network for the Freedom of Curriculum (Hálózat a Tanszabadságért, HAT), comprising secondary school teachers, the Network of Academics (Oktatói Hálózat, OHA), formed recently with the participation of almost 230 university and college professors, and the Network of Students (Hallgatói Hálózat, HaHa), with a constituency of several hundred university and college students, in their letter written to the Commissioner for Education protesting against the actions of the Hungarian government in the sphere of education.
The networks have asked the Commissioner to consider the deep concerns of the education experts and activists at her meeting with State Secretary Rózsa Hoffmann on Wednesday, 29 February. Spokesman Denis Abbot said after the meeting that the Commissioner paid special attention to the joint statement of the organisations involved. The Commissioner also asked the Hungarian State Secretary about the extent to which certain elements of the new Hungarian laws on public and higher education prevent Hungary from achieving the goals of the common European strategy of growth.
The regulations enacted in the new laws on public and higher education have resulted in protests and cooperation broader than ever on behalf of the academics, teachers, and students affected in the first place – as it is attested in their joint statement and letter.