Structure of the chapter

This chapter provides a thematic and chronological overview of national reforms and policy developments since 2021. The introduction of the chapter describes the overall education strategy and the key objectives across the whole education system. It also looks at how the education reform process is organised and who are the main actors in the decision-making process. The section on ongoing reforms and policy developments groups reforms in the following broad thematic areas that largely correspond to education levels: 

• Early childhood education and care 

• School education 

• Vocational Education and training 

• Higher education

• Adult Learning 

Inside each thematic area, reforms are organised chronologically. The most recent reforms are described first.

Overall national education strategy and key objectives

Key challenges facing the Hungarian education system at present include:

• decreasing the proportion of early leavers from education,

• improving basic competences and increasing the role of schools in dealing with disadvantages in the field of public education,

• reducing the educational performance gap between the institutions,

• improving the efficiency of basic and secondary-level education and consolidating a more efficient and more productive institutional management system in general education,

• creating opportunities for efficient career guidance,

• improving the quality of vocational education and making it more attractive,

• providing the conditions for the extension of dual training and taking economic demands into consideration to a greater extent during the content development of VET and in practical training,

• establishing a more efficient VET institutional system,

• improving the proportion of students obtaining a tertiary-level degree and the participation of disadvantaged students in tertiary education,

• increasing adult participation in lifelong learning,

• promoting the digital transition in the entire educational and training system.

For Hungarian education, the government has set out the goals and improvements to be achieved in sectoral strategies.

General education

The government adopted the public education strategy for the EU programming period between 2021-2030 in August 2020. Its main objective is to achieve an equitable, modern public education system. The strategy defines 5 specific objectives and 14 intervention directions.

OVERALL GOAL:

1. Ensuring the internal balance of education

• The harmonised intellectual, mental and physical development of learners
• Development of early childhood institutional education and care

2. Development of human resources involved in public education as a state-provided public service

• Increasing the preparedness of and appreciation for teachers
• Increasing the role of personal directly assisting teaching
• Developing and supporting institution heads

3.  Equitable public education that takes individual unique features into consideration

• Reducing the ratio of underperformers and early school leavers – promoting equity, integration, and catching up

• Inclusive education, development of children/learners with special education needs

• Enhancement of talent support

4. Public education responsive to the challenges of the 21st century

• Development of digital competences and services

• Development of foreign language skills

• Content development

• Modern public education infrastructure

5. Educational support of the Hungarian diaspora and the minorities in Hungary

• Set up of the educational area of the Carpathian Basin

• Supporting the education of ethnic minorities living in Hungary

Vocational education and training

The Government published its "Vocational Education and Training 4.0" strategy in 2019 and updated it at the end of 2023, which envisages the medium-term development of vocational education and training. The implementation of this strategy is served by Act LXXX of 2019 on Vocational Education and Training, which entered into force on 1 January 2020.

The main objective is to improve the prestige, quality, and efficiency of vocational education and training, to which the strategy assigns three pillars: 

1. To create career opportunities with competitive qualifications and skills the economy demands. This is facilitated by

• a simple, transparent and interoperable training system;

• providing a transition from technical to vocational higher education;

• and an attractive scholarship system. 

2. Providing an attractive learning environment. This is supported by

• an infrastructure development programme (building, equipment);

• high quality, state-of-the-art sectoral basic training workshops;

• and digital content.

3. Up-to-date teaching skills. This is ensured by:

• the development of accredited, company-based training courses for instructors;

• attracting and involving engineers and business professionals to the school;

• more flexible trainings for engineering teachers and instructors;

• developing the methodology for small groups of students to catch up, mentor programme;

• introducing a new QA and teacher appraisal system tailored for the needs of the vocational education and training;

• digital assistants.

Higher education

In 2016, the government adopted the Higher Education Strategy 2030 "Changing pace in higher education", which was updated at the end of 2023. The main objectives are:

• institutions give a quicker and more effective response to labour market demands as a result of organisational changes;

• the local network of higher educational institutions should give a chance for everyone to join higher education;

• increasing the number of students coming from regionally disadvantaged areas, disadvantaged families as well as disabled and Roma students and graduates;

• increasing the number of female students in STEM courses;

• increasing the number of students and graduates in STEM courses

• significantly decreasing the rate of drop-out;

• improving students’ competences related to labour market demands;

• increasing the ratio of students with a higher education degree within a certain age group population;

• increasing the number of students participating in international mobility programmes

• significantly improving the pedagogical and teaching-methodological preparedness of teachers

• students obtain degrees that are more competitive and provide a more grounded knowledge;

• Hungarian higher education become more attractive;

• due to a balanced education structure, institutions have a greater potential to provide international education/programmes; consequently, their income deriving from these may increase.

• There has been a major overhaul of the higher education admissions system to increase access at the right level and in a meaningful way.

Adult learning

Strategic objectives in adult learning:

• Ensure measurability and thus comparability of training (based on Big Data);

• To further strengthen the labour market demand-driven adult learning system;

• Increasing the attractiveness, supply and competitiveness of adult learning by reducing the administrative burden;

• Increasing the number of participants in adult learning by improving attractiveness and quality, introducing innovative solutions,

• Developing the Individual Learning Account and adapting micro-credentials for use in the labour market.