Education in Hungary
The educational system in Hungary is predominantly public, run by the Ministry of Human Resources.
[3] Today there are 67 higher education institutions in Hungary, ranging from small colleges to top research universities.
In accordance with the objectives of the Bologna process the degree structure of tertiary education is based on three cycles.
The first-cycle programmes last 6–8 semesters (3–4 years, 180–240 credit points) and lead to a bachelor's degree (in Hungarian: alapfokozat).
The second cycle, leading to a master's degree (in Hungarian: mesterfokozat), lasts 2–4 semesters (1–2 years, 60–120 credit points).
The 120 credit points gained in vocational higher education programmes are compatible for recognition in the first (Bachelor) cycle.
Any Bachelor's or master's degree can be followed by specialised higher education courses (in Hungarian: szakirányú továbbképzés).
A four-year doctoral programme is a post-graduate course to follow any Master's or equivalent qualification.
Hungary has a long tradition of higher education reflecting the existence of established knowledge economy.
The world's first institute of technology was founded in Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary in 1735, its legal successor is the University of Miskolc.
According to the 2001 census, the population of Hungary was 10,198,000, about half a million less than the figure of twenty years earlier.
According to the 2003 survey, the rate of Romani children in the population entering school education in 2008–2009 is expected to be around 15%.
The system's institutional structure and the presence of programmes allowing early selection show similarities with Central European and ex-socialist countries.
Participation in secondary education, offering a wide variety of programmes, is fairly high.
Since 2015, participation in pre-primary education at this level (kindergarten) is compulsory from age 3 (before 2015 only the final year – beyond age 5 – was compulsory), although exceptions are made for developmental reasons [6][7] Public-sector institutions may only charge for services additional to their basic tasks, including for example extracurricular activities, meals, excursions, etc.
[7] Though kindergartens may include programs in subjects such as foreign languages and music, children spend most of their time playing.
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 August 31).
Higher education in Hungary dates back to 1367 when Louis the Great founded the first Hungarian university in the city of Pécs.
This school type (in Hungarian: szakiskola) typically provides general and pre-vocational education in grades 9 and 10, normally followed by three or two years of VET.
