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The “Hungarian in the Homeland” program will be expanded, and as the first step, Hungarian children in Ukraine attending Hungarian educational institutions will receive a 100,000 HUF (EUR 250) grant from January, Árpád János Potápi, Minister of State for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office, told M1 news channel.
The State Secretary said that thanks to the program families living beyond the border receive 22,400 forints (EUR 60) for each child attending a Hungarian-language school. In recent years, the government has increased the number of children eligible for the program by providing support not only for primary school children, but also for those attending secondary school, nurseries and higher education.
A comprehensive renewal of the education support for Hungarians living beyond the borders is expected from the next academic year 2023-24, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced last November at the 20th Hungarian Standing Conference that the amount would be increased. Thus,
Hungarian families in Transcarpathia, who have persevered despite the war conditions, will receive 100,000 forints in education support for each child enrolled in a Hungarian institution from January.
The aid will be paid in two instalments, first 22,400 HUF and then the remaining 77,600 HUF. This will affect around 19,000 children, said János Potápi Árpád.
Asked how many Hungarians were allowed to stay in Transcarpathia after the outbreak of the war, the State Secretary said that before the war, some 130-150 thousand Hungarians may have lived there, but the number of children enrolled in educational institutions has fallen by 18.3% since the outbreak of the war. However, the majority of children, mothers and grandmothers have remained in their homeland. Presumably, a higher proportion of men aged between 23 and 65 who had been conscripted left their homes.
Drawing on the lessons of the war in Yugoslavia a quarter of a century ago, János Árpád Potápi asked the people of Transcarpathia to ensure that at least one person from each family stayed at home if they could, so that the property remained clearly in the family’s use.
Referring to the increasing number of anti-Hungarian atrocities in the Municipal District of Municipalities in recent months, the State Secretary said that this was considered unacceptable. Hopefully, the Ukrainian administration will change the situation and treat the minorities living there in a European way, he said.
Featured Photo: Árpád János Potápi Facebook