The history of Hungary goes back more than a thousand years: according to historical tradition, nomadic Hungarian tribes settled in the Carpathian Basin in central Europe around 895, among various ethnic groups. Christianity was adopted a hundred years later by Prince Géza. His son Stephen, the first Hungarian king, is regarded as the founder of the state, and under his leadership Hungary became part of Christian Europe.
During the reign of King Stephen, various monastic orders had established monastic and chaplaincy schools to train clergy. From the middle of the 14th century, ecclesiastical schools began to develop in the cities, preparing their students for secular tasks as well. The first universities also appeared, in Pécs in 1367 and in Óbuda in 1395. However, these were short-lived.
In the 15th century, the renaissance court of King Matthias was considered one of the cultural centres of Europe. Humanist ideas, with a strong emphasis on classical education, were introduced in city schools. From the mid-16th century, with the spread of the Reformation, many city schools came under the management of Protestant churches.
This prosperous period came to an end with the Ottoman Turkish campaigns of the 16th century, when Hungary was divided into three parts: the central part came under Turkish rule, the western and northern part, as the Kingdom of Hungary, belonged to the Habsburg Empire, and in the east the Principality of Transylvania was established. The Turkish occupation lasted more than 150 years.
After the end of Ottoman rule (as after the Mongol invasion in the 12th century), Slavic and German-speaking people from neighbouring countries settled in depopulated areas to cultivate the land. This also increased the country's multi ethnic composition. The Hungarian language acted as an intermediary language, as the official language was Latin, for the longest period in Europe, until 1844.
The institutional education of girls began in the 17th century with the introduction of female religious orders dedicated to the education of girls (English Sisters, Ursulines) to Hungary.
After the return of the territories occupied by the Ottomans, the reunified Hungary became part of the Habsburg Empire from the 18th century. The Enlightenment, the intellectual movement of the time, was also reflected in the policies of the Habsburg rulers. Maria Theresa attempted to regulate education, which had previously been in the charge of the churches, and to introduce compulsory schooling in her Ratio Educationis (1777). As a result, more and more primary schools were opened. The second Ratio Educationis (1806) provided for the education of girls, laid the foundations for civic schools and in addition to Latin, introduced education in Hungarian.
The first kindergarten (nursery school) was opened by Teresa Brunszvik in 1828, and several girls' schools opened their doors.
The revolutionary wave that swept across Europe in the first half of the 19th century reached Hungary, and in March 1848 the Hungarian Revolution broke out. After initial successes, a responsible Hungarian government was established, with a minister responsible for religion and public education. The suppression of the revolution led to a war of independence, but with its fall the direction of education continued to be determined by the decrees from Austria.
In 1849, an eight-grade grammar school (Gimnázium) was introduced for boys aged 10-18 to receive a classical education leading to a school-leaving certificate. The number of teachers and the number of hours of instruction were specified. The other type of secondary school was a six-year practical-technical school (Reáliskola) for industrial-technical or technological professions. This was later extended to eight years and ended with a school-leaving certificate. The first school-leaving examinations were held in 1851.
The relationship between the Habsburg monarch and the Hungarians was settled by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was followed by a period of peace and prosperity. The new government again had a minister for religion and public education. The Public Education Act of 1868 made primary education compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Thanks to this measure, the number of literate people had increased significantly by the early 20th century.
From 1895, women were allowed to attend university, but only in the humanities, medicine and pharmacy. The first female engineering students began their studies in 1918.
After the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was dissolved and Hungary lost most of its territory under the Treaty of Trianon. The country turned to the ideals of Christian nationalism. In 1926, a new law on public education was passed, which further expanded the availability of schools. As a result, the number of illiterates continued to decrease. The secondary school system was also reformed, allowing institutions to become more specialised. In 1940, the six-grade elementary (primary) schools were transformed into eight-grade schools.
A school-leaving certificate was required to enter a university. However, the introduction of the numerus clausus law in 1920 allowed selection, and as a result few Jews and women were admitted. The Second Jewish Law of 1939 not only limited the number of Jews admitted to universities and colleges, but also forced the dismissal of Jewish teachers and lecturers.
Hungary entered the Second World War on the side of Germany. At the end of the war the country became a battleground between German and Soviet troops.
After the Second World War, the country fell under the influence of the Soviet Union for more than 40 years. The state became a people's republic. Communist ideology was also imposed in education, for example, Russian was compulsory in grades 5-12 of public education. Russian and Marxist ideological subjects (Marxism-Leninism, political economy, dialectical materialism) were compulsory in the first two years of higher education.
A revolution against Soviet control and tyranny broke out in October 1956, but the arrival of Soviet troops in early November crushed the resistance.
From the 1960s, the communist system was consolidated, economic conditions improved and living standards rose. Hungary became the "happiest barrack in the communist bloc". The educational level of society rose steadily, leading to a growing number of intellectuals. The proportion of women graduates increased rapidly.
In the mid-1980s, bilingual public education appeared and spread.
By the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Union had weakened and then collapsed, losing its regional influence. The Republic of Hungary was declared on 23 October 1989, the constitution was amended and the first democratic elections were held in 1990. Hungary joined the Council of Europe in 1990, the OECD in 1996, NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
In the education sector, new laws and regulations replaced the previous comprehensive education legislation in 1993. Educational institutions were given considerable autonomy, and intermediary and background bodies were created to assist in the operation of the system. Private schools and universities were allowed to be established, and tuition and fees were introduced. Enrolment in both general secondary education and higher education began to increase.
In 2005, a two-level school-leaving examination system was introduced, which became part of the higher education admission process as an important element in the ranking of applicants. Between 2005 and 2010, higher education moved to a three-cycle structure (Bologna process), introduced a credit system and developed comprehensive external quality assessment mechanisms.
Public education, vocational training and higher education have undergone major changes since 2010. All children over the age of 3 are required to attend kindergarten, and education is compulsory from the age of 6 to the age of 16. Public education and vocational training institutions, previously run by local municipalities, have been transferred to state management and the vocational training system has been restructured. The new National Core Curriculum for public education was introduced in 2020.
In higher education, the institutional network, admission conditions, admission procedure and system have been reformed in several stages. Most recently, the operational and financial structure of higher education institutions has changed. The majority of formerly public institutions have been transferred to public trust funds and have become private institutions, although the primacy of public funding has been maintained.