The municipal council of Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș, Neumarkt am Mieresch) has decided in its meeting on Thursday afternoon to change the structure of the school network, including the establishment of the Roman Catholic high school, Franz Rákóczi II.
This decision had to be made by September 1, in accordance with legal requirements, so that the Roman Catholic high school can once again operate as an independent institution during the coming 2023-2024 school year. For the school year beginning September 5, the high school will continue its activities without an independent status as a sub-unit of the Wolfgang-Bolyai High School.
The decision was made by 15 of the 23 members of the local council. In addition to the council members of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), representatives of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Free People’s Party (POL) also supported the decision, which was also positively evaluated by the secretary of the municipal council. Representatives of the Pro-Romania Party and the People’s Movement Party requested an adjournment of the decision, citing the negative opinion of the Legal Committee.
The City Council also decided to amend the agreement by which the Roman Catholic Status (the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church) will transfer the buildings that housed the Catholic high school to the Wolfgang-Bolyai High School for the next school year.
The complex negotiations for the survival of the educational institution came after Romanian nationalist politicians attacked the foundation of a Hungarian high-school in the heart of Szekler-land, and courts have effectively taken away the school’s license. As the headmaster of the school in Târgu Mures reported, the decree of the Minister of Education on the issuance of the operating license was signed on August 9, 2018.
This decree has been challenged by ill-intentioned people on behalf of their institutions. On November 29, 2019, the Târgu Mureș court abolished our license.
Our appeal was heard by the Bucharest High Court on April 6, 2022, and today it announced the result: the decision of the first instance has become final. Therefore, the Ferenc Rákóczi II Roman Catholic Theological Lyceum in Târgu Mures is once again without a license to operate,” the headmaster explained.
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