Education in Hungary 2000

Chapter 4 - The Educational System and Student Flows

4.1 The Development of the Hungarian School Structure

Compulsory schooling in Hungary lasts from 6 to 16/18 years of age. (The legal regulations allow for the differentiated beginning of school between ages 5 and 7). The 1996 Amendment to the Public Education Act extended the end of compulsory schooling to the age of 18, but only starting with those who enter primary school in the 1998/99 school year. In the scholastic year 1998/99 75% of the 17-year-old and 63% of 18-year-old population were students (Table 4.1). Children can satisfy the requirement of compulsory schooling by attending educational institutions at the primary and secondary levels.

 

Table 4.1    The number of participants in school-based public education according to school type and age

NB:The students in the 4th to 8th grades of six and eight-grade general secondary schools are listed as primary school students.
Adult education only refers to the education of adults within the formal system.
The rate compared to age groups is an estimate and thus might be distorted by several factors.
 
Source: Ministry of Education, educational statistics; KSH, Demographic Yearbook,1998, and the calculations of András Sugár

The system of Hungarian school education has been under review for many years. The structure of the eight-grade general school and the consecutive 3 or 4 years of secondary education established in most socialist countries of Europe after 1945, started to come under scrutiny after 1990, when the autonomy of the local and the institutional levels increased and the educational monopoly of the state was abolished. The 1993 Public Education Act already reflected the changing school structure. As a consequence, the definitions of primary schooling and secondary schooling were modified and the formerly firm division between general and vocational secondary education disappeared.

It is important to emphasise that the transformation of the Hungarian school system is not controlled by the state, nor is it the product of far-reaching, central strategic decisions. It has basically taken place as the result of numerous, small-scale efforts at the local and institutional levels. The most important demographic reason for the structural changes in secondary education is the decline in the number of pupils who leave the general secondary school. Between 1989 and 1996 the number of general secondary school-leavers dropped from 171 thousand to 120 thousand and the schools had to make great efforts to ensure the pupil numbers that would allow for the continuation of their operation. The important administrative reason for the changes is that decision-making on pupil enrolment and on the determination of the educational profiles is allocated to the local, maintainer level. The factors mentioned so far have been further strengthened by the financing system of education, which makes the support of institutions mainly dependent on the number of pupils. Due to the special interaction and the parallel timing of these factors the educational institutions have found themselves in a hitherto unknown field of competition, where they have to exploit every means available to ensure an appropriate number of pupils so that they can continue their operation and maintain their number of teaching posts.

The figure on page 41 illustrates the structure of Hungarian education. The forms of training shown on the figure represents educational programmes that can operate within one institution rather than school types. General secondary education, the so called ‘gimnázium’ (4 to 8 years of education) mainly prepares students for the continuation of studies in higher education, and they have to take the secondary school-leaving examination at the end of schooling. Secondary vocational education (4 to 6 years) prepares students either for entering the labour market or higher education, which means they can take the vocational exam and the school-leaving exam - the latter entitles them to go on to tertiary level - at the same time. Vocational training school programmes (4 years) train students to become skilled workers for the labour market, and grant a vocational certificate.

Vertical Changes in the Structure of the Educational System

After 1990, the most significant vertical development was the introduction of six and eight-grade general secondary schools (Table 4.2 on page 42). The 1990 Amendment to the 1985 Education Act authorised six and eight-year general secondary education. The number of students attending these secondary schools grew dynamically until 1996, and has kept increasing to a smaller degree since. In particular, the permeation of eight-grade general secondary schools has slowed down and practically stagnated since 1997. The expansion of general secondary schools that altered their structure made the system less transparent, and created different pedagogical, organisational and financing difficulties.

 

 

Table 4.2    The number of pupils and classes of six- and eight-grade general secondary schools at grades 5-8,
1991/92-1999/2000

	Number of schools	Number of pupils at grades					Number of classes at grades
		5.	6.	7.	8.	Total	5.	6.	7.	8.	Total
1991/92
Six-grade	21	-	-	nd	nd	nd	-	-	nd	nd	nd
Eight-grade	45	1 621	538	nd	nd	nd	55	18	nd	nd	nd
Total	-	1 621	538	1 186	416	3 761	55	18	39	13	125
1992/93
Six-grade	54	-	-	2 254	1 089	3 343	-	-	74	29	103
Eight-grade	47	1 746	1 341	533	113	3 733	60	48	18	4	130
Total	-	1 746	1 341	2 787	1 202	7 076	60	48	92	33	233
1993/94
Six-grade	86	-	-	3 317	1 978	5 295	-	-	113	66	179
Eight-grade	68	2 669	1 966	1 463	572	6 670	91	69	49	20	229
Total	-	2 669	1 966	4 780	2 550	11 965	91	69	162	86	408
1994/95
Six-grade	126	-	-	4 800	3 606	8 406	-	-	168	124	292
Eight-grade	88	3 363	3 004	2 248	1 584	10 199	120	103	79	54	356
Total	-	3 363	3 004	7 048	5 190	18 605	120	103	267	178	648
1995/96
Six-grade	150	-	-	5 717	5 138	10 855	-	-	196	179	375
Eight-grade	97	3 727	3 461	3 058	2 218	12 464	128	123	105	78	434
Total	-	3 727	3 461	8 775	7 356	23 319	128	123	301	257	809
1996/97
Six-grade	168	-	-	6 110	5 697	1 1807	-	-	210	195	405
Eight-grade	99	4 029	3 750	3 506	3 030	14 315	136	128	123	105	492
Total	-	4 029	3 750	9 616	8 727	26122	136	128	333	300	897
1997/98
Six-grade	173	-	-	6 392	6 073	1 2465	-	-	225	210	435
Eight-grade	103	3 854	4 094	3 766	3 526	15 240	135	138	128	125	526
Total	-	3 854	4 094	10 158	9 599	27 705	135	138	353	335	961
1998/99
Six-grade	188	-	-	7 242	6 580	13 822	-	-	253	232	485
Eight-grade	106	4 033	3 913	4 051	3 754	15 751	140	137	138	131	546
Total	-	4 033	3 913	11 293	10 334	29 573	140	137	391	363	1 031
1999/2000
Six-grade	191	-	-	7 015	7 346	14 361	-	-	243	254	497
Eight-grade	106	3 986	4 038	3 869	4 028	15 921	138	139	135	138	550
Total	-	3 986	4 038	10 884	11 374	30 282	138	139	378	392	1 047

Source: Ministry of Education, educational statistics; data on 1999/2000 by Tibor Könyvesi

The legislative changes, realised through the National Core Curriculum (NAT) and the 1993 Public Education Act, were aimed at directing the structural development of schools towards the extension of general education to 10 years. The 1996 Amendment worked along the same lines, but instead of extending primary education, it made the ninth and tenth grades provide general education. In regards to these two forms, the most significant changes in vocational education were brought about by the introduction of the National Training Register (OKJ) and the National Core Curriculum, by prolonging general education and by the extension of vocational education to over 16 years of age. From the scholastic year of 1998/1999 on, vocational training in the professions listed in the OKJ may only begin after the completion of compulsory education. As a result, students attending ninth and tenth grades in schools which do not grant the secondary school-leaving certificate are also instructed in subjects that provide the basis for general education. The content of the syllabus is laid down in the requirements of the NAT and frame curricula.

As a consequence of vertical changes, the length of each training period changed: the length of primary education shrank from 8 years to 4 or 6 in the case of certain student groups, elsewhere it grew to 10 years, and secondary education increased from 4 years to 6 or 8, whereas in other places it shortened. The 1999 Amendment not only changed the objectives and the division of learning periods of the various forms of training, but often their content, as well. This Amendment intended to reinforce the previous 8-plus-4-year model. It discontinued the unified preparatory period which lasted from the first up to the tenth grade. The certificate for general education is not received after taking the basic exam at the end of the tenth grade, but is given if one succeeds in completing the eighth grade. The period of secondary education begins in the 9th grade, whilst in the ninth and tenth grade, apart from education and pedagogy basically aiming at establishing the level of general literacy, there is the opportunity to develop the abilities which make it easier for pupils to enter technical training.

In addition, the 1999 Amendment made the definition of technical school more exact. It declares that technical schools have a 9th and a 10th grade and at least two years of additional technical training. This raised the length of skilled worker training in vocational training schools from three to four years. Prior to the Amendment, general training programmes for the ninth and tenth grades could be set up by both eight-grade primary and secondary schools, and the maintaining local governments assigned this duty to vocational training schools in most of the settlements. The rate of underprivileged students is typically high (20-25%) in these schools, therefore the obligation to change the structure quickly caused serious tensions. The fact that in the ninth grade, instead of technical training, schools could only teach technical knowledge in the form of career-orientation, resulted in significant changes. One may enter technical training at several stages: (1) after taking the general certificate for primary education at 16, (2) after completing the 10th grade, (3) after completing the final year of secondary school which prepares for the school-leaving exam, and (4) after taking the school-leaving exam. The vertical changes of school structure are also influenced by the organisation of the 13th and 14th grades for general secondary and secondary vocational school-leavers (Table 4.3).

  Table 4.3    The changing number of students in the 13th grade or above in secondary vocational schools, 1995/96-1999/2000

School-year	Number of students	Increase (previous year = 100%)	Increase (1995/96 = 100%)
1995/96	24 132	100.0	100.0
1996/97	33 271	137.9	137.9
1997/98	39 398	118.4	163.3
1998/99	46 230	117.3	191.6
1999/00	50 199	108.6	208.0

Source: Based on the statistics of the Ministry of Education, calculations of Erika Garami

It is due to this development that the increase in the total number of students in secondary schools which prepare them for the school-leaving exam is almost exclusively connected to the growing number of students who take part in technical training after the exam.

In order to avoid youth unemployment, thirteenth grades in secondary schools offer training in the form of optional programmes which improve the chance of employment or which grant opportunities for temporary jobs. The most frequently offered options are the development of competence in foreign languages, ICT skills, tourism and motoring. In order to avoid the unemployment of graduating students, technical training institutions have extended their scope towards higher levels, i.e. they have introduced vocational and technology classes, and the scope of technical training institutions very often includes short vocational, vocational, post-vocational and technological training.

Horizontal Changes in the Structure of the Educational System

One of the most important drives behind the horizontal changes that have taken place in the system of public education was the expansion of secondary schools which offer secondary school-leaving certificates. The unexpectedly rapid increase in the number of regular students in these secondary institutions began in the second part of the eighties. Since the size of the population grew, as well, relatively speaking, student numbers stagnated.

From the nineties on, the number of students entering secondary education has hardly changed, however, as a result of the steady decrease in the student population since the beginning of the nineties, schooling rates have leaped: that of general secondary schools rose from 20% to 32% between 1989/90 and 1999/2000, and that of secondary vocational schools from 27% to 39%. After 1996/97, the rate of students leaving education after primary school has begun to rise, a possible reason for this is the repression of special short vocational schools, which left a certain segment of students without appropriate options for further studies after primary level (Fig. 4.1 and Table 4.4). Simultaneously, the number of students entering vocational training school training has considerably dropped.

As a result of the re-structuring process, more than 75% of students going on to secondary education within each generation applied to secondary schools at the end of the nineties (Table 4.5 on page 46). Within the group of students entering secondary school, little more than one-third (37.8%) went on to schools offering general training, and nearly two-thirds (62.2%) to schools which give technical training. In regards to the total number of students, the growth is primarily experienced in vocational secondary education, and less so in general secondary education. The spectacular expansion of secondary schools can be accounted for by the increase of the number and the rate of students taking the school leaving certificate. Although the number of students admitted into secondary schools stagnated in the absolute sense in the early nineties, the number of students who passed secondary school-leaving examination four years later and their rate compared to the size of the 18-year-old population have both showed an almost constant increase.

In 1995, practically every student enrolled for secondary school succeeded in taking the secondary school-leaving certificate. This goes to show that the certificate for secondary education is becoming more and more essential and everyone aims for taking it.

As a part of horizontal changes, on the other side the number of vocational training school students has decreased significantly (from 42% in the 1990/91 school-year to 23% in 1999/2000).

 

Fig 4.1    The number of students going on to secondary and technical school after leaving primary education1990/91-1999/2000

Secondary school = general secondary and secondary vocational school
Technical school = vocational training schools, school for typing and stenography, special short vocational training schools
Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary) 1999/2000

 

Table 4.4    The number of primary school-leavers and students who continue their studies after primary education, 1985/86-1999/2000

Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary) 1999/2000

 

Table 4.5    The number of students at secondary level in each programme, 1985/86-1999/2000

School-year	General sec- ondary school	Sec- ondary voca- tional school	Voca- tional training school	Short voca- tional school for typing and steno- graphy (%)	Short voca- tional school for health care (%)	Special short voca- tional school(%)	Total
1985/86	105 794	130 155	176 380	7 751	5 491		425 571
1986/87	105 194	131 517	175 228	7 744	5 279		424 932
1987/88	105 976	133 618	177 191	7 378	5 414		429 577
1988/89	108 440	139 740	186 796	7 343	5 645		447 964
1989/90	116 317	157 075	201 702	6 794	6 531		488 419
1990/91	123 425	168 352	209 371	6 231	6 549	684	514 612
1991/92	130 378	178 911	204 655	5 404	6 261	6 062	531 671
1992/93	136 729	186 183	188 570	4 281	5 158	14 284	535 205
1993/94	138 198	192 388	174 187	3 494	4 224	17 298	529 789
1994/95	140 352	196 965	163 330	3 017	3 290	16 338	523 292
1995/96	140 884	208 415	154 294	2 267	2 054	13 984	521 898
1996/97	140 867	220 528	143 800	1 870	1 067	11 624	519 756
1997/98	141 402	227 243	132 637	1 238	726	9 310	512 556
1998/99	142 196	234 430	119 727	863	368	7 245	504 829
1999/00	145 210	241 369	109 534	651	327	6 526	503 617

Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary) 1999/2000

As a result of the horizontal structural changes that have taken place, a large proportion of secondary institutions guarantee several educational programmes for students at the same time from the 9th to the 12th grade, but often the organisation of 13th and 14th grades also means a horizontal as well as vertical change in the training structure of institutions. As a consequence of overlapping horizontal and vertical changes, a general secondary school sector evolved from secondary schools with a mixed profile, based on technical schools, whose schooling requirements and performance are significantly lower than those characteristic of single-profile general secondary schools. The changes and the growing rate of mixed-profile institutions further blurs the dividing line between general and vocational education on the whole.

The Transformation of the Structure of Vocational Education

Since the early nineties, the structure of vocational education, built on different kinds of preliminary training and giving qualifications on different levels, has undergone rapid development. On the system level, its structure in the recent years has been affected primarily by the Public Education Act, the Higher Education Act, the Amendments made to these, and by the introduction of the OKJ and the NAT. At the moment, the liberalisation of fixed schooling routes, the considerable extension of general secondary education, and the adjustment of vocational education to secondary and post-secondary levels are under way. This process includes the gradual reduction and disappearance of the 3-year skilled-worker training in vocational training schools, its transformation into 4-year programmes, the long-term spread of secondary vocational schools, and the diffusion of the new model for vocational education (a two-year general education, two years of technical preparatory training, and one or two years of specialisation). The OKJ receives the most criticism for the high number of professions, and the fundamental reformation began only recently. If training programmes would appear as registered in the OKJ, it would impose a challenge for vocational education, since competition may evolve between extra-curricular and school-based training. In the fields of economics, ICT and health care, practically the whole of post-secondary vocational education is based on the OKJ, whereas in industrial, technological and agricultural training, the number of students applying to registered programmes is still below 50%.

Post-secondary Training

The system of accredited higher level vocational training, introduced in 1998, opened up new perspectives in the field of vocational education. Besides increasing the chances of finding employment on the market, its aim is to guarantee the acquisition of acknowledged credits in higher vocational training for those students who wish to continue their studies in the ‘official’ higher education. One of the basic requirements for this form of training is to meet the needs of the economy, and to ensure the cooperation of market representatives throughout the process: from the goal-setting phase, through establishing the internal percentage of curriculum-content, to the actual organisation of the training.

Besides, the creation of post-secondary training had important educational policy reasons: the extension and democratic transformation of higher level training, and the aim to make it more practical. The training is a part of higher education, and it cannot be launched without being initially accredited as a higher education programme. At the same time, it is part and parcel of the vocational training system, and subject to the legal regulations of vocational education.

Accredited higher level vocational training may be organised in two institutional types on higher levels in the education system: in higher educational institutions and vocational schools - however, the content and exit requirements of the training are uniform. Participants receive the OKJ certificate, and this qualification enables them to find a job on the labour market as higher qualified workers. If the student was to enrol in higher education, some courses may be accepted at the appropriate credit value. Vocational schools may only introduce the training if they previously sign an agreement with a higher educational institution that is appropriate for the line of training concerned and willing to cooperate.

Second Chance for Dropouts

The flexibility of educational systems is the possibility for students to move between schools, programmes and training levels. The 1993 Public Education Act includes a paragraph on the right of students to continue their studies without having to take supplementary exams or complete a year’s study for a second time, even if there is no institution operating at their permanent residence which would ensure school education until the end of compulsory attendance. As a result of the structural changes in the past years, the flexibility of the educational system has worsened on the one hand, because of vertical changes, but on the other hand it has improved due to horizontal changes, which increased mobility within institutions and developed new options for correction. For students dropping out of the educational system, a new opportunity is provided by the adult education system. This system copies school structure, and can be regarded as a second channel to the public education system. In addition, its objective is to give a second chance and achieve correction, but in the nineties it also performed the function of venting structural tension and preventing unemployment (‘parking’).

4.2 The Levels of Public Education

The levels of public education are: pre-school education, primary and secondary education. Pre-school education is a part of public education, since nursery school attendance is compulsory from the age of 5. Primary education in fact includes the level termed lower-secondary in Western-Europe (this corresponds to the 5th-8th grades in Hungary), but the ninth and tenth grades may also be included, as the nature of these is mostly to offer general education which builds on previous periods.

Pre-school Education (ISCED level 0)

The nursery school period of public education concerns children from the age of 3 up to the stage of development necessary for schooling. Pre-school education may begin at the age of three, but is compulsory from 5 when children are obliged to take part in preparatory sessions for school life. The rate of children attending nursery school at 5 exceeds 95 percent. If the child achieves the level of development needed for schooling, he/she will have to enrol in primary school in the calendar year when he turns 6 before 31 May. The population of nursery schooling-age has gradually decreased since 1996, but there are fewer available places than children. Eighty to ninety percent of under five-year-olds attend nursery school, but their rate varies greatly between settlements. While the number of children attending nursery school shows a declining trend, together with the number of available places in the past years, the rate of children enrolled at nursery school has risen moderately (by 1%) within the nursery age group. The operational conditions of institutions vary, and a wide range of structural variations have developed in the country in the case of nursery schools as well. Due to cost-effectiveness, nursery schools, and sometimes nursery and primary schools, maintained by local governments have been merged. This process began to accelerate in the summer of 1999, and consequently, nursery schools have become subsidiaries to and integrated into large organisations of single management. The number of teachers dropped in the early nineties has stagnated since, however, the number of nursery schools has been stable throughout the period.

 

Figure 4.2    Key trends in primary school education, 1985/86-1999/2000

Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary) 1999/2000

Primary Education (ISCED levels 1 and 2)

The number of primary schools changed little in the eighties, yet began rising in the nineties and halted in 1995/96, since then the number of schools has dropped slightly (Fig. 4.2 and Table 4.6).

 

Table 4.6    Key data in primary school education, 1985/86-1999/2000

School-year	School	Classroom	Class	Teacher	Pupil
1985/86	3 546	43 800	48 610	88 066	1 297 818
1986/87	3 540	44 597	49 213	89 611	1 299 455
1987/88	3 540	45 409	49 622	90 925	1 277 257
1988/89	3 526	46 045	49 509	90 620	1 242 672
1989/90	3 527	46 146	49 112	90 602	1 183 573
1990/91	3 548	46 580	48 729	90 511	1 130 656
1991/92	3 641	47 121	48 497	89 276	1 081 213
1992/93	3 717	47 594	48 330	88 917	1 044 164
1993/94	3 771	48 148	47 676	89 655	1 009 416
1994/95	3 814	48 677	47 578	89 939	985 291
1995/96	3 809	48 615	46 425	86 891	974 806
1996/97	3 765	48 231	45 521	83 658	965 998
1997/98	3 750	48 592	45 495	82 904	963 997
1998/99	3 732	48 981	45 589	83 404	964 248
1999/00	3 696	48 930	44 956	82 829	960 601

Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary), 1999/2000

Still, in 1999 there were 4.2% more schools operating than in 1985. The number of classes has been on the decline since 1988/89, that of students since 1987/88, and in September 1999 there were 26% less students than 15 years before. The number of teachers still rose significantly in 1987/88, totalling around 90 thousand, but decreased considerably in 1995/96 and 1996/97. In 1999/2000 teacher numbers were 6% less than in the 1985/86 school year. As a consequence of the demographic decline, the important indicators for primary schools have shown a significant tendency towards more intensive education in the past 15 years. The number of school classes per classroom fell below one, and student numbers significantly dropped regarding all bases for projection. The improvement of specific indicators practically stopped in the 1995/96 school year. The average school size was 260 students per school in 1999/2000, but in more than half of the schools the student number is below 200. Undivided - one-room - education is less and less typical of small-size schools, they rather tend to operate in divided or partially divided grades (Table 4.7).

 

Table 4.7    The number of primary schools according to management and characteristic feature, 1990/91-1999/2000

School-year	Characteristic feature of school			Management
	divided	partially divided	undivided	independent	shared	not independent
1990/91	2 952	154	442	2 617	328	603
1991/92	3 034	167	440	2 941	322	378
1992/93	3 106	193	418	3 033	360	324
1993/94	3 185	174	412	3 107	383	281
1994/95	3 218	202	394	3 152	417	245
1995/96	3 215	202	392	3 115	476	218
1996/97	3 184	205	376	3 130	511	215
1997/98	3 188	218	344	2 952	601	197
1998/99	3 193	216	323	2 930	620	182
1999/00	3 168	201	327	2 901	619	176

Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; 1999/2000: calculations of Mrs László Szalay

Characteristic Features of Progress from one School Year to Another

The rate of students staying in a grade for a second time is higher in the 1st, 5th and 6th grades, and the lowest in the 8th year. Until the mid-nineties the rate of second-timers decreased slightly in most years, i.e. some increase in efficiency could be deduced (as a result of falling student numbers). In the last three years their rate has become stable, and no further improvement took place.

The most important indicator for drop-outs is the rate of students who fail to complete their studies within the age limit of compulsory attendance. In the early nineties this area also displayed slight improvement. Whereas in 1990/91 6.1% of 16-year olds failed to complete primary school, the same rate was 3.5% in 1996/97, and only 2.2% in 1999. The annual drop-out rate also decreased during the nineties, but this trend has slowed down in the past years.

Further Education after Primary School

Admission into secondary level institutions is possible at several points due to changes that have taken place in the past years: at the age of 10, 12 and 14. As a result of the evolving competition between schools, entry tests, which previously characterised institutions with special educational offers, have become widespread regardless of the educational programme. The spread of entrance exams was made possible by authorising school managers to decide on admission at their own discretion. The 1999 Amendment to the Public Education Act considerably restricted the school’s freedom of decision in this area. New regulations have also been introduced regarding further education after the eighth grade. According to these regulations, from the year 2000 admission into secondary institutions is conducted through a new central information system, which creates the pre-requisites for the adoption of uniform evaluation standards and practices during the entrance procedure.

Options for Correction

Primary education for adults, besides the instruction of adult students, has been focusing more and more on meeting the special educational needs of younger age groups. By the eighties the so-called schools for workers have become the pool for children of the socially underprivileged. According to regulations, students may only continue their primary studies in the framework of adult education after turning 17. In the nineties, institutions for the primary education of adults have run afoul of the cost-reduction policies of local governments struggling with financial problems. Their number and the number of adults enrolled have both constantly and dramatically decreased: compared to 161 institutions and 12 528 students who had reached adulthood in 1990/91, there were less than 60 institutions with only about 3 000 students in 1999/2000.

Secondary Level Education (ISCED level 3)

The range of secondary educational programmes on offer is fairly wide; besides general secondary, vocational and technical training programmes there are also training programmes offering the possibility for correction.

Secondary educational institutions

In the 1999/2000 school year there were fifty percent more classes in general secondary schools than in 1985/86, the number of classes in secondary vocational schools has doubled, and the number of classes for vocational training, which has been on the decline since 1990/91, has fallen to almost half of the previous amount compared to the early nineties. Student numbers rose until 1992/93, and have been slightly decreasing since. The number of secondary vocational students has been increasing dynamically and above the average throughout, by 80% in comparison to 1985/1986. The number of students in general secondary schools (excluding general secondary school students at primary school age) was rising slightly, and although was below average in the eighties, was increasing above average in the first half of the nineties, yet then the rate came to a halt. The number of vocational training school students has dropped significantly in the nineties: after 1993/94 it remained below the 1985/86 rate. The number of short vocational training school students also decreased considerably (Fig. 4.3).

 

Figure 4.3    Trends of secondary school student numbers according to programmes, 1985/86-1999/2000 (19985/86 = 100%)

Source: Source: Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary), 1999/2000

The number of secondary school teachers has leaped in the past decade, but dropped in skilled-worker training. The student-per-teacher ratio has decreased in general secondary schools, whereas it has stagnated or increased in vocational institutions. From 1997/98 the student-per-teacher ratio in skilled-worker training has begun to rapidly decrease.

The gender proportion strongly varies in the different programmes. In general secondary schools the rate of boys and girls is a stable 40:60%, in vocational education a more or less stable 50:50%, and in vocational training schools the rate was two-thirds to one-third.

Institutions for and Students of Vocational Education and Training (VET)

The number of students in vocational education slightly decreased by 7.1%, between the 1990/91 and 1999/2000 school years, however, the structure of training has undergone significant changes: the number of secondary vocational students in industrial, technological, economic, trade and catering programmes has increased, whereas the rate dropped in secondary vocational schools for agricultural and health care training. The number of students in vocational schools which grant the secondary school-leaving certificate has largely increased, and that of vocational training school students fell nearly by half. As a result of pushing the age limit for the beginning of technical training over 16, and due to the instruction of OKJ-registered trades, student numbers have risen in higher grades (13th-14th), which adds up 15% of all students in vocational education. The professional structure has been completely transformed, in order to adapt to OKJ-qualifications. The number of students who previously participated mainly in technical training for typing, stenography, and health care has plummeted, but student numbers have risen in other schools, especially in schools that offer training programmes related to information technology.

Changes were the greatest in skilled-worker training. Student numbers dropped mostly in industrial trades such as the heavy and light industry and construction, however, the rate of students in catering and in the service sector increased. The transformation of the professional structure mainly required for the conditions of practical instruction to be reformed, and this has drawn considerable costs. Whereas employers give preference to applicants with work-experience, in school-based vocational training the opportunity for students to gain professional in-service experience with companies has been constantly narrowing.

The important indicators for the efficiency of education, namely the rate of second-timers in a grade and the various drop-out indicators, differ significantly in each school type. Although in the late nineties the drop-out rate has somewhat decreased in general secondary schools and declined dynamically in secondary vocational schools, the same indicator has worsened considerably in traditional skilled-worker training.

Options for Correction at secondary level

As far as the drop-out rate is concerned, one of the advantages of institutions offering several programmes is that they may transfer students who fall out of training programmes of higher prestige to ones where requirements are lower ‘within the premises’.

The task of educational correction at the secondary institutional level is assigned to school-based adult education. In the nineties great changes have taken place in the internal structure of the training of adults at secondary level: training programmes have attempted to meet the standards of general secondary schools. The most popular programme was the 3-year training, which is, in practice, a 2-year intensive schooling in the form of a regular educational programme, the so-called secondary vocational school for skilled labourers. The programme made it possible for approximately one-third of the students leaving skilled-worker training to enter a fully credited school programme. Compared to 1997/98, in 1999/2000 there were three and a half times more students attending evening courses, whereas a declining trend may be observed in correspondence courses. In the 1999/2000 school year new forms of evening and correspondence training have emerged.

As for the composition of classes, the average age has dropped in comparison to the seventies and eighties. More and more students with skilled-worker certificates take and pass the secondary school-leaving examination. However, more and more mixed-profile institutions are schooling their school-leavers into their own adult education forms and courses.

The Effect of Exit Regulations on Progress in the System

In the Hungarian public educational system the most important exam at present, and traditionally, is the secondary school-leaving examination. At the end of the nineties almost every student who had successfully completed secondary forms took the exam. However, large-scale schooling at secondary level made the revision of the content and function of the school-leaving exam inevitable. The publication of frame curricula will probably postpone the implementation of the compulsory two-level secondary school-leaving examination until 2005. The standard two-level school-leaving exam will enable students in their final year to take the exam at different levels in each subject. They may take higher level secondary school-leaving exams in the subjects required for admission into higher education, which would replace the entrance examination. However, the option to take the exam at an intermediate or higher level will strongly differentiate student flow within secondary schools, since preparatory courses will be introduced for both intermediate and higher levels. In order to ensure this widening range of options, schools might be forced to engage in inter-institutional cooperative work. What is more, some students might even have to pursue their secondary studies in two (or more) institutions.

In the domain of vocational education, exit regulations are increasingly relying on the National Training Register (OKJ). The OKJ makes the secondary school-leaving certificate a condition of entrance into vocational training in the case of many trades. This represents a kind of motivation for taking the school-leaving exam, it boosts the expansion of secondary schools, and it strengthens the tendency towards mass application for the exam.

According to the 1996 Amendment, the 10 years of compulsory and unified general education would have had to be completed by taking the basic examination after the introduction of the NAT. However, as a result of the measures taken by the new educational government, this exam is not organically linked to the exit regulatory system anymore: the 10th grade used to represent a pedagogic division line, but the scope of frame curricula has been extended to regulate content up to the 12th grade. The current role of the basic examination may be that it enables schools to evaluate their pedagogic work against external criteria, and thus it could become integral to the quality assurance system of education.

Higher Educational Systems Receiving Secondary School Graduates

The increase of student numbers in higher education is a natural phenomenon in developed countries. Hungary has made considerable improvements in this area, as a large increase has taken place between 1990 and 1997. The rate of schooling into higher education rose by 105% in the given period. Greater increase was only achieved in Poland and Portugal during this period. The picture is even more favourable if we consider the fact that in developed countries the definition of higher education is broader than in Hungary, the length of studies is basically greater, and a large number of students fail to complete university or college.

Observations show that there are significant differences between the trends of student progress in higher education in certain countries: in Hungary, for example, 77% of admitted students complete their higher level studies, and the same rate is 49% in Portugal. This draws attention to the fact that the extent to which the large-scale expansion of higher education may be financed is limited, unless it is accompanied by the development of stronger mechanisms for selection and the expansion of possibilities for leaving the system.

The Increase of Student Numbers

Over the past 15 years the number of students entering higher education in Hungary has grown significantly. In 1999 the number of students applying for full-time training was 1.8 times the amount of the 1990 rate, while the rate of admitted students grew two and a half times (Fig. 4.4 and Table 4.8).

 

Fig 4.4    The number of applicants for full-time training and admitted students in higher education, 1990-1999

Source: KSH, Hungarian Statistical Yearbook 1990-1998; KSH educational data (preliminary), 1999/2000

One of the reasons behind increasing student numbers may be the rapid rise in the number of students with secondary school-leaving certificates, which follows from more populous student-intakes in times of demographic rise. However, the above mentioned increase in student numbers in the early nineties went hand in hand with a 15% increase in the number of institutions (Table 4.9 on page 70). In the past five years students attended the same number of institutions, and the increase of student capacity has simultaneously slowed down. Besides the rise in prescribed capacity and the liberalisation of the admission system, the establishment of new colleges largely contributed to rising student numbers. In relation to the increase in the number of first-year students the rate of students attending higher education in the 18-22 age group has grown noticeably: whereas it was at around 10% in the early nineties, in 1998 it neared 20%. Considering students with secondary school-leaving certificates only, the indicator becomes even more favourable: whereas hardly one-third of them were admitted to universities or colleges in 1990, this rate exceeded 50% by the mid-nineties (Table 4.8).

The large-scale increase of student numbers, however, surfaces fairly differently on the levels of training and educational branches. Concerning educational branches, in the early-mid nineties the increase was especially large in the number of applicants for the faculties of arts and law, and in the case of institutions with economic, engineering and agricultural programmes. The only exceptions were teacher and nursery teacher training colleges, where the absolute number of applicants also dropped. The distribution of students in the educational branches of higher educational institutions has not changed considerably in the past 10 years. In the early nineties, from the number of part-time students (attending evening or correspondence courses) to that of students in evening courses fell to an all-time low, regarding the post Second World War period, and only a fairly moderate increase has taken place since. In contrast, an exceptionally large increase was experienced in the attendance of correspondence courses after 1990: the number of students grew to three and a half times of the previous amount over seven years. This was mostly triggered by the permeation of the learn-and-work model, of post-graduate and retraining courses, and of the different forms of correspondence learning.

 

Table 4.8    Total number of students taking secondary school-leaving and higher education entrance examinations, 1990-1999 (thousand people)

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Left full-time general secondary programme	24 136	24 599	26 685	31 051	31 029	31 202	32 133	32 651	33 730	32 029
Left general secondary school, total	27 241	27 541	29 265	34 217	34 413	34 620	41 359	36 427	37 749	36 267
Left secondary vocational full-time programme	28 903	29 649	32 961	37 556	37 575	39 063	41 280	42 913	43 930	41 936
Left secondary vocational school, total	40 633	40 998	42 195	46 300	45 788	49 919	51 467	53 822	53 286	50 412
Left full-time programmes, total	53 039	54 248	59 646	68 607	68 604	70 265	73 413	75 564	77 660	73 965
Students taking the second-ary school-leaving exam calculated in the percent-age of the population	36.9	35.9	32.8	36.2	37.9	40.4	44.5	48.7	52.7	53.6
Applied for full-time higher education	46 767	48 911	59 119	71 535	79 419	86 548	79 369	81 924	81 065	85 471
Admitted into higher education	16 818	20 338	24 022	28 008	29 787	35 081	38 382	40 922	43 629	44 538
Number of those admitted calculated in the percentage of applicants	36.0	41.6	40.6	39.2	37.5	40.5	50.0	50.0	53.8	52.1
Number of those admitted calculated in the percent-age of students taking the school-leaving exam	31.7	37.5	40.3	40.8	43.4	50.0	52.3	54.1	56.2	60.2
Full-time higher education students calculated in the percentage of the population aged 18-22	10.4	11.4	12.0	12.8	14.0	15.0	16.1	16.1	19.9	17.4

Source: KSH, Hungarian Statistical Yearbook, 1990-1998; Ministry of Education: educational statistics; KSH educational data (preliminary), 1999/2000

As a result of the large-scale increase of student numbers, the number of graduating students was growing significantly in the mid-nineties. In the 1999/2000 school year nearly 27 thousand students received their degree, which means that their number rose by more than 60% in relation to the 1990/91 school year. In comparison with educational branches, the number of students qualifying as teachers (lower primary, upper primary and secondary teacher) remains the highest, followed by students taking their degrees in technology, the humanities, economics and agriculture, respectively. Most graduates opt for college diplomas (63%).

The large-scale increase of student numbers was not followed by the satisfactory infrastructure-related development of the institutional network, therefore conditions have worsened in dormitory accommodation, which is one of the fundamental aspects of student support.

 

Table 4.9    Main indicators of higher education, 1990/91, 1996/97-1999/2000

	1990/91	1996/97	1997/98	1998/99	1999/2000
Number of institutions	77	89	90	89	89
Number of teachers	17 302	19 329	19 716	21 323	21 138
Full-time students (thousands)	76.6	142.1	152.9	163.2	171.5
First-year students (thousands)	22.7	44.7	45.7	48.9	51.6
Foreign students (thousands)	3.3	6.4	6.6	7.0	7.7
From all students, calculated in the percentage of the total student number:
Grant-holders who receives other allowances (thousands)	98.9	99.2	97.2	96.3	nd
Living in student dormitory	46.8	32.1	29.5	28.0	26.5
Students per teacher (number of)	4.4	7.3	7.8	7.7	8.1
Graduated students (number of)	15 963	22 128	25 000	25 338	27 000*

* Estimated data
 
Source: KSH, Hungarian Statistical Yearbook, 1998; KSH educational data (preliminary), 1999/2000

Post-secondary Education and Higher Vocational Training (ISCED 4, 5)

Higher vocational training opens up perspectives for several groups of young people: on the one hand, for those who have taken their school-leaving certificates in general secondary schools, therefore do not possess a vocational qualification, and have not been admitted to university or college. As unemployed school-leavers, they can apply for the financial support for education provided by job centres, which covers the costs of the first technical training or retraining. In addition, higher vocational training enables students who completed secondary vocational school, but could not enter higher education, to master the given profession at a higher level. The training usually takes 2 years, and in most cases students have to pay a considerable tuition fee (HUF 70 000 to 100 000 per semester). One form or other of post-secondary education can also be attractive for young individuals intending to continue their studies, as these forms of education can make further studies easier due to their flexible nature. However, the rate of young individuals attending accredited higher training programmes is still insignificant. Aside from traditional higher education institutions, and within the framework of flexible post-secondary vocational training that aims to meet the actual needs of the labour market, we primarily find a range of courses that are oriented towards a practical approach. The educational programmes are largely based on new forms of education (such as distance learning), and there is clearly a strong intention to offer teaching materials which are appropriate for the individual learning of students who very often take on temporary or part-time jobs.

It was a pronounced objective of the legal provisions that higher vocational training should ensure both horizontal and vertical flexibility. Due to the effect of these legal provisions, the processes of institutionalisation in this area aim largely at broadening the traditional college-university framework, and colleges and universities with the appropriate capacity are becoming instrumental in higher technical education. In 1998 seventeen colleges and 12 universities accommodated higher level courses from this category. Another consequence is that significant regional inequalities are evolving in post-secondary training, similarly to colleges and universities; within post-secondary training, higher vocational training is also concentrated in the capital, since half of the institutions that organise these courses are located in Budapest. The regions of the countryside whose institutional network is traditionally undeveloped (e.g. the Western-Transdanubian region) seem to be underprivileged in comparison to the possibilities for higher vocational education as well.

Factors Influencing the Continuation of Studies

Today we can see the expansion of higher education, since during the nineties the number of students has risen most remarkably. However, there are numerous forms for the continuation of studies, therefore it is not surprising that the majority of students leaving secondary programmes which traditionally do not prepare them for higher education wish to study further in one form or another. Continuing to university is the most popular with students attending six or eight-grade general secondary programmes, secondary vocational school students mainly aspire to colleges, and vocational training school students would like to obtain the secondary school-leaving certificate. Career aspirations form a hierarchy according to the different programmes, behind which also lies a fairly diverse composition of students attending these regarding their family backgrounds. The rate of higher qualification is the highest amongst the parents of students attending 6 or 8 grade general secondary schools, whereas it is the lowest amongst students of skilled-worker training.

The rates of admission into higher education are the highest in the case of students coming from general secondary schools, followed by mixed secondary and secondary vocational schools. From the group of general secondary schools the ones where education is based on a six-year curriculum stand out. The rate of students applying to higher education in relation to secondary school-leavers has been rising constantly in all institution types in the decade. Whereas 65% of general secondary school-leavers applied to higher educational institutions in 1991, the rate was 84% in 1998. This same rate rose from 25 to 34% in the case of secondary vocational schools. Although we find fairly large differences in the aspirations to higher education between general secondary and vocational students, the differences are smaller regarding the chances for admission. 54% of applicants from secondary vocational schools and 68% from general secondary schools were admitted into higher education in 1998. Concerning regional differences, the rates of the continuation are also influenced by the higher educational institutions situated in the given county. From the data on students continuing their studies from secondary schools, it can be deduced that the rate of students going on to universities of sciences is higher in counties where there is a university complex (Baranya, Hajdú-Bihar, and Csongrád Counties), whereas enrolment in colleges is high where there are no large universities (Bács-Kiskun, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Heves, and Győr-Moson-Sopron Counties). Nevertheless, there are regions where the rate of continuation into higher education is low in all aspects, such as Nógrád, Komárom-Esztergom and Pest Counties.

4.3 The Transition from School to Work

Young people spend more time in the educational system than previously, and the number of those who continue their studies following compulsory attendance has increased significantly. Education policies in the nineties have encouraged the prolongation of training for different reasons. In the previous decades leaving school generally meant immediately taking up work. In contrast, today school attendance is more often followed by an inevitably or deliberately prolonged temporary period of life. At the same time, schooling strategies based on individual plans are gaining ground, and the time-consuming transition period becomes a widely accepted and ‘natural’ stage in life. In Hungary, similarly to international trends, a significant number of people combine their work and studies in different ways, besides the option to take up work after leaving school.

In the period between 1992 and 1997 the rate of 15-19 year olds who attend school grew steadily, while their rate among the employed and the unemployed fell significantly, and the otherwise high rate of inactive group members slightly increased. Similar processes have taken place among young people in their early twenties (Table 4.10).

It is a noteworthy change that the rate of students among 20-24 year olds is rising, which can be related to the prolongation of schooling, and to the evolving post-secondary training system, which is expected to further increase in the future.

 

Table 4.10    The rate of employed individuals in the 20-24 age group compared to the total population in OECD countries, 1996

Country	Rate of employment
Switzerland	79
Denmark	74
Australia	73
Iceland	73
The Netherlands	72
New-Zealand	72
Japan	70
USA	70
Czech Republic	68
United Kingdom	67
Germany	66
Canada	65
Norway	65
Austria	64
Finland	62
Ireland	60
France	59
Korea	59
Luxembourg	59
Mexico	59
Belgium	56
Greece	55
Portugal	53
Sweden	53
Hungary	52
Turkey	48
Poland	47
Italy	40
Spain	36

Source: From Initial Education..., 2000

Career Orientation and Counselling

Career orientation and counselling are among the most important elements of the institutional system concerned with handling problems typical of the transition period, as they may contribute to harmonising demand and offer on the labour market. Career orientation is based on the work of the so-called career orientation specialists in schools, who are regular teachers commissioned to do the task besides their teaching duties. Preparation for career orientation work is not an organic part of higher-level teacher training as yet, and the majority of trainee teachers do not receive the special training required for the task. The general experience is that teachers responsible for career counselling are not well-informed about the developments of the labour market and the real possibilities which students face.

The institutional system for career-counselling maintained by the state has significantly decreased during the nineties, i.e. at a time when unemployment was at its largest. At the moment the only professional and independent career-counselling institution in the country is the Budapest Career Counselling Institution (FIPT), which was set up in 1966 and re-established after several transformations in 1991, whereas the need for this kind of counselling has considerably increased.

Institutions of the labour market (job centres, employers) are taking on an increasing role in career counselling, distributing information, and orienting students. Some job centres also undertake the training of teachers wishing to specialise in career orientation. Non-governmental organisations play a crucial role in this area. More than 300 fellow-professionals - psychologists, teachers, social workers, lawyers, mental-hygienic professionals etc. - work in youth guidance and information bureaux which operate nation-wide and are contacted by several hundred thousand young individuals annually. The completely free and accessible service seems to successfully address the age groups most concerned.

4.4 Adult Education

School-based adult education is losing ground, but even in the mid-nineties one-tenth of the individuals gaining the skilled-worker certificate, nearly one-fifth of the individuals taking the secondary school-leaving examination, and nearly one-third of the individuals taking a higher level degree did so in evening and correspondence education programmes. A fairly large segment of the adult education sector is made up of school-external programmes. The statistical observation of the so-called labour-market training, which is external to the school system, is far from complete as yet, and the only data and information we have on training carried out in the place of employment come from small-scale surveys which are rather fragmented. The processes are supported by the regulation which allows one-third of the vocational training contribution (1.5% of payroll) to be spent on one’s own workforce. A bill on adult education is under preparation. Once passed as an act, it is expected to introduce a transparent system of motivation that serves to reform the workforce through continuous training, similar to the practices of developed European countries.

The operation of the so-called labour-market training is mainly financed by the state, and for most of its part it aims to retrain - and provide posterior technical training for - young people freshly graduated from schools. In fact, it also performs the function of correcting and extending school-based training. The preference of active measures on the labour market is reflected by the fact that in the past years, more or less in parallel with the number of the unemployed, the number of participants in these training programmes has been continuously rising. There are fairly large training capacities available in this area, partly within the organisational structure of the labour market, and partly in a profit-oriented way. In the nineties almost a hundred thousand people have participated annually in the former, through the programmes run by the Ministry of Labour, and by the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs from 1998. The activities of educational institutions and non-profit organisations are of a considerable size, and they represent a growing capacity. At the moment about 500 to 600 organisations offer such training. According to the current legislation, organisations involved in adult education must be registered at regional job centres.

The most significant turning point of the past years in the domain of educational instruments was the appearance of the internet. The development of Hungarian correspondence learning is built on the existing higher educational system, on the National Council for Distance Learning, which has operated for years now, and on the recently established Public Foundation for Open Vocational Education. The two bodies, together with businesses interested in market training, are discovering the possibilities to expand training programmes by means of such instruments, through different projects and by using a pool of international experience. Virtual courses have appeared in Hungarian university training on an experimental level.

4.5 Sectors of the Education System not Maintained
by Local Governments: Church-affiliated
and Private Education

Aside from institutions not maintained by local governments, the network of church affiliated, foundational and private schools has developed in Hungary on the basis of the possibilities and needs for historic traditions and due to the current social environment.

The re-introduction of church-affiliated and private schools was made possible by the regulations passed in the late eighties and early nineties. The 1989 Amendment to the Constitution re-established the freedom of schooling. The Parliament amended the Public Education Act in 1990, and enabled legal entities as well as private individuals to establish and maintain nursery, primary and secondary schools, student homes, student dormitories and primary level institutions for art education. The 1993 Public Education Act and its 1996 Amendment extended the right to found and maintain public educational institutions. The 32nd clause of the 1991 law made it possible for churches to reclaim ecclesiastic real estates that had been unlawfully nationalised and without any compensation during the party-state period, if they are to be used for educational purposes.

Private schools enjoy the benefit of autonomous operation, as they are legally independent institutions separated from the education system of the local government, but their financing and pedagogic activities are controlled by the state. They are allowed to participate in carrying out the educational duties of the government as partners. If they perform tasks of the local government, they may sign a public education agreement with the local or regional government (or with the Minister, if the institution undertakes regional or national tasks). The operation of private schools is financed from the state-budget and by the maintainer. The state grants subsidies to the maintainer of the private school as defined in the annual state budget, which cannot be less than the normative support given to the local government by the same right. The local government or the state is allowed to give supplementary subsidies above the budgetary support.

Church-affiliated and Private Schools

In the past years in this field the expansion of church-affiliated, foundational and private schools was the most dynamic, but their weight is still insignificant, and education is invariably dominated by schools maintained by local governments: 93% of students attended these in the 1999/2000 school year. The number of foundational and private institutions is near four hundred (Table 4.11). They take on two roles: supplementary and substituting activities. Supplementary functions are performed by institutions practising alternative approaches in education, following a special ideology or philosophy, and pursuing altruistic goals. Institutions in the substituting role basically offer teaching and education identical to that of state schools, but they often undertake the realisation of alternative pedagogical aims and methods (being many-sided, integrative, child-oriented, alternating between individual and group-work, taking care of talented children and focussing on skill development). Many schools operate in an explicitly profit-oriented way, especially in domains of foreign language teaching, computer skills development and artistic activities. The number of applicants generally exceeds their student capacity.

On the secondary level, foundational schools are found in all school types, and among them the rate of mixed-profile institutions, and that of institutions explicitly attending to students who are in an exceptionally advantaged or underprivileged position, is fairly high. In the 1999/2000 school year they constituted 12% of secondary schools where the school-leaving exam may be taken, and 5.6% of secondary students attended them. Their rate is also significant amongst short vocational schools: they constituted 9.5% of all institutions, and 4.5% of students attended foundational or privately maintained short vocational schools.

 

Table 4.11    Foundational schools and schools maintained by other parties than local governments, the number of their students and teachers, 1992/93-1999/2000

	1992/93	1994/95	1995/96	1996/97	1997/98	1998/99	1999/2000	Increase
Institution
Nursery school	26	43	94	115	121	155	172	6.61
Primary school	25	33	47	60	66	76	87	3.48
Special education institution	2	6	6	8	10	12	13	6.50
Short vocational training school	8	11	15	14	15	16	19	2.37
Vocational training school	13	14	18	26	24	28	26	2.00
Secondary school	19	30	52	72	89	111	133	7.00
General secondary school	13	13	24	26	33	35	36	2.77
University, college	3	4	4	5	6	6	6	2.00
Student
Nursery school	964	2 881	5 410	5 986	5 905	6 695	7 080	7.34
Primary school	2 500	3 299	4 126	6 353	6 718	7 852	8 943	3.58
Special education institution	264	484	591	575	615	834	950	3.60
Short vocational training school	1 107	1 044	1 136	764	1 392	1 175	1 375	1.24
Vocational training school	952	1 547	1 886	3 001	3 155	3 916	3 832	4.02
Secondary school	2 393	7 514	10 596	12 478	14 099	17 632	21 675	9.06
General secondary school	1 115	2 110	2 213	2 276	2 704	3 092	3 497	3.14
University, college	231	2 789	5 247	6 722	6 826	7 384	7 582	32.82
Teacher
Nursery school	103	276	546	606	614	724	748	7.26
Primary school	290	406	550	781	804	956	1 066	3.67
Special education institution	122	175	160	260	278	300	305	2.50
Short vocational training school	19	23	24	25	42	46	57	3.00
Vocational training school	71	70	126	175	171	194	169	2.38
Secondary school	268	604	810	821	960	1 259	1 432	5.34
General secondary school	129	243	309	279	373	428	500	3.88
University, college	39	658	775	1 381	1 467	1 592	1 675	42.94

Source: KSH, Hungarian Statistical Yearbook, 1996, 1998; KSH educational data 1998/99, 1999/2000 and data from Mrs László Szalay

In church-affiliated schools the increase in student numbers between 1992/93 and 1999/2000 exceeded the rising trend of schools maintained by local governments in all school types (Table 4.12). The participation of churches in education is more significant at secondary level: they maintained 6.7% of institutions and 8.3% of secondary schools (attended by 5.6% of secondary students). Within secondary education, the contribution to general secondary school education is of primary significance. Their participation in vocational education is negligible.

At higher levels, however, one-third of the institutions are maintained by some of the churches. As for denominational distribution, the majority of schools are Catholic, one-fourth are Calvinist, 7.1% are Lutheran. The Jewish, Greek Catholic, Pentecost and Ecumenical Churches are represented by one or two institutions in primary school education.

One characteristic feature of the church-affiliated school system at secondary level is that a large majority of schools have their own hostels. In 1999 there was a total of 40 student dormitories maintained by churches, where 5 379 students lived, which is nearly one-third of students attending secondary church-affiliated schools and one-tenth of all boarding students.

Church-affiliated and Private Higher Education

Since the early nineties, private colleges have been an organic part of Hungarian higher education. They primarily organise programmes in economics, business and technical studies, foreign languages and computer skills.

Forms of correspondence learning have become widespread. The expansion of church-affiliated higher education, which had previously been characterised by seminaries and theological training, took place in the nineties. The process brought about tension in some areas, but on the whole strengthened the state-independent higher education of churches. In the 1999/2000 school year 28 higher education institutions were maintained by churches. This is 31.4% of all institutions, and these hosted 6% of students and employed 15.8% of higher education teachers. The number of students almost multiplied fivefold between 1992/93 and 1999/2000, and that of teachers grew nearly eight times its original amount (Table 4.12).

4.6 Student Dormitories in Public Education

From the perspective of social mobility and equality of opportunities, student dormitories play an important role. The 544 student dormitories operating in 1999 provided a temporary place of residence for nearly 78 thousand students. The vast majority of student dormitories serve the boarding of secondary level students: in the 1998/99 school year only 4.3% of boarders were primary school students. 48% of student dormitories hosted secondary vocational, 24% general secondary, and 21% vocational training school students. Having survived the unstable period of the nineties, the position of student dormitories now seems to have become firmly established, as the education policy recognised the significance of student dormitories, the untapped resources in the system, and the need for comprehensive professional development. This surfaced, on the one hand, in the regulatory measures introduced for student dormitories (the enforcement of special needs in the obligatory chapter for equipment and instruments for student dormitories; a more exact definition of the duties of the student dormitory and its inclusion in the Public Education Act; the enactment of the national core-programme for student dormitory education; the foundation of the award for educational work in student dormitories), and, on the other hand, in the increase of central and local resources allocated to the development of pedagogic-educational activities in student dormitories and for the improvement of their infrastructure.

 

Table 4.12    Key data on church-affiliated institutions 1992/93-1999/2000

	1992/93	1994/95	1995/96	1996/97	1997/98	1998/99	1999/2000	Increase
Institution
Nursery school	22	36	43	53	60	69	74	3.36
Primary school	58	110	131	146	162	168	177	3.05
Special education institution	3	5	3	3	5	3	3	1.00
Short vocational training school	2	8	6	8	8	8	7	3.50
Vocational training school	1	1	3	4	4	5	8	8.00
Secondary school	33	48	52	63	68	85	87	2.64
General secondary school	31	44	52	63	65	71	79	2.55
University, college	26	28	28	28	28	28	28	1.08
Student
Nursery school	1 539	2 650	3 290	3 947	4 236	5 031	5 230	3.40
Primary school	11 260	23 315	28 695	3 690	37 044	39 078	42 270	3.75
Special education institution	105	185	171	150	177	182	314	2.99
Short vocational training school	27	1095	576	587	662	460	314	11.63
Vocational training school	147	152	514	597	628	1 156	1 971	13.41
Secondary school	9 806	14 164	15 257	17 153	19 156	19 987	21 523	2.19
General secondary school	8 905	13 277	13 892	15 520	16 714	17 484	18 707	2.1
University, college	2 137	5 237	6 302	7 514	8 570	9 414	10 227	4.78
Teacher
Nursery school	123	221	274	327	375	440	459	3.73
Primary school	899	1 915	2 383	2 663	3 030	3 261	3 479	3.87
Special education institution	17	30	15	24	41	43	58	3.41
Short vocational training school	4	90	33	45	38	32	21	5.25
Vocational training school	18	13	56	62	71	112	163	9.05
Secondary school	794	1 277	1 467	1 709	1 922	2 093	2 365	2.98
General secondary school	735	1 213	1 365	1 621	1 747	1 884	2 119	2.88
University, college	429	912	1 258	1 238	1 416	1 710	3 336	7.78

Source: KSH, Hungarian Statistical Yearbook 1996, 1998; KSH educational data 1998/99, 1999/2000 and data from Mrs László Szalay