The Eurostat data According to the European Union, 40% of 30-34 year olds have a higher education degree. In contrast, only 34 percent in Hungary, with which we managed to take the not-so-up 23rd place in 2019. Cyprus grabbed the top three of the podium by 59 percent, Lithuania by 57 percent and Luxembourg by 56 percent.
We have to wait a bit more for the 2020 data, but last year more than 75 thousand people in Hungary received it language test and they were able to take their degree in view of the coronavirus epidemic, which may weigh a lot on the lat, but it is not yet likely to bring us closer to the EU average.
“The problem can be traced back to around 2012, when, after the Széll Kálmán Plan, the government withdrew an astonishing amount of funding from higher education and began to limit the number of people who have a chance to graduate through various measures,” he told Index Péter Radó education researcher, education policy analyst, referring, for example, to how many students could be admitted to a given course, but then a “clump-up” was introduced, which requires state scholarship students to work at home for years depending on the number of semesters. This had a serious deterrent effect, as even then many wanted to go abroad, which led to young people not even starting their university studies in Hungary, a popular alternative being Denmark, for example, where higher education is free.
To approach 40% of the EU, we also need to make training free, more open, more flexible and more capacity-building. Going to university and graduating at home is still a luxury, and it only benefits those who can afford it.
Said Péter Radó. Institutions have also adapted to this situation, which is why some courses may not start or some teaching positions may end, not to mention the fact that this also reduces the range of programs available, especially for master’s programs.
Dropout is very high
“Today, everyone goes to university, no one studies a profession.” “Anyone can get in, no matter how smart” – although the general public generally thinks about the situation of higher education in Hungary, it turned out that in reality there is not much basis for this. Poorer students already start their secondary education in institutions where there is little or no chance of entering higher education.
If someone does, they will have a good chance of dropping out over time, because it turns out that they have not acquired the necessary foundations in language skills, for example.
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“Language teaching in secondary schools is usually of a very low standard, so typically only those who were able to pay for other courses and special classes can pass the language exam. It also leads to dropping out if someone realizes on the fly that they have chosen the wrong course, because in this case the transition between courses is very small, but the same can be said about schools. In addition, the mathematics, science and comprehension skills of new entrants have deteriorated significantly over the past ten years, which has also led many to give up the university, ”the education researcher explained.
If not increasing the number of applicants, but stopping the drop-out is important from an economic point of view, because there is a great need in Hungary for graduates and not only engineers, IT specialists, but also economists and humanities, as services account for two-thirds of Hungarian GDP. they are well placed in this sector as well.
Other ages have something to bring
In addition to the special age group of 30-34 year olds, the 25–54 and 55–We do not reach the EU average among 74-year-olds either. We show how far behind we are.
- In the European Union, the 25–Among 54-year-olds, 34.6 The proportion of people with higher education is 28 percent, while in Hungary it is only 28 percent. In this category, Luxembourg finished 51.3 percent.
- The 55–Among 74-year-olds, the EU average is 20.9 percent, and in Hungary it is 18.8 percent. Here, Estonia is in the lead with 38.2 percent.
(Cover image: Students in a written exam at the Corvinus University of Budapest on January 9, 2019. Photo: Zoltán Balogh / MTI)
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