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Government Policy Prioritizes School Development, Says Finance Minister

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.01.26.
The newly inaugurated gym

The government’s policy priority is to support families and childbearing, and the development of schools is also linked to this, the Finance Minister said in Budapest on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new gymnasium of the Baar Madas Reformed High School in the second district of Budapest, built with HUF 2.8 billion (EUR 7.3 million) of government support, Mihály Varga noted that this intention is reflected in the unique Hungarian family support system, which has been preserved despite the crises of recent years – pandemics, war, and the energy crisis.

The finance minister recalled that one of the first measures taken by the government after 2010, was the regularization of teachers’ salaries.

The current pay increase is the biggest ever, by an average of more than 90% between 2022 and 2026.

Fact

The government wants to implement a three-year pay improvement program from January 1, 2024 as visible in February wages. There will be smaller but more significant increases from January 1, 2025, and 2026. At the completion of the wage increase program, the average salary of teachers will be HUF 800,000 (EUR 2,000).

Teachers Set to Receive Salary Increase from January 2024
Teachers Set to Receive Salary Increase from January 2024

The average salary of teachers will be 800,000 forints by the end of the improvement program.Continue reading

Varga stressed that now that part of the EU funds due to Hungary have finally been disbursed after a long wait, the first 32 percent of the pay increase will be reflected in February salaries. From February, 140,000 teachers and kindergarten teachers will receive higher financial recognition, he pointed out.

The finance minister also said that from 2012,

the government had introduced a system of progressive daily physical education, which led to the need for infrastructure improvements in some institutions.

The new gymnasium of the Baar Madas Reformed High School was built with government support of HUF 2.8 billion, meeting both aesthetic and functional needs. The politician added that the new hall blends in with the original school building and is equipped with the latest facilities, so that it can host community, religious, and cultural programs in addition to sports events.

Mihály Varga mentioned that a year ago, he compared the school to a family who had “outgrown their home.” However, now “holidays can be moved home” and weekdays will be more comfortable at the Baar Madas Reformed High School, voted the best Reformed school in Hungary last year.

Referring to the Reformed symbol, Bishop Zoltán Balog, pastoral president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, said “we need a star to find the right direction.” In his speech, the bishop expressed his joy that the new gymnasium will be a home for body and soul, physical and spiritual movement.

László Tombor, the principal of the high school, noted that they are working to make the school a comfortable home for the students of the twenty-first century. To this end, the gym and the sports courtyard were renovated, the corridors refurbished, the windows replaced, and the lobby and terraces were restored and updated. He added that the multi-purpose hall is a good place for students to play sports, but also for graduation ceremonies.

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While Hungarian citizens were excluded from the academic program, illegal migrants have benefited from it.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/Soós Lajos


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