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Students Protest Hungarian Government’s Subsidy Cut
Hungarian student groups held a massive demonstration in
Budapest on Monday to protest against the government's decision last week to
heavily cut state subsides of university tuition.
The Hungarian state has so far fully paid for getting the
first university degree and at times often also for a post-graduate degree. The
system has been costly and an overhaul was needed as the government remains
under pressure to carry out austerity measures.
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Editor's Note: Whether left-wing students like it or not, the era of free university education is about to come to an end in Hungary. For two decades after 1989, a university education was free. Even post-graduate degrees were free as well. Times are now getting tough and the conservative government has to make cuts. In most countries in Europe and the world, students have to pay for their own education. Hungarian students will have to get used to this new reality.
There were many students recently that were "living" at university for many years, some for almost a decade with no completed degree at all. It was convenient for them to live it up at the Hungarian taxpayers expense. The ones who did obtain a university degree, left Hungary for "better" prospects in other countries leading to a "brain drain" in the country. The students that were protesting in the streets of Budapest this week are not representative of the majority of students in the country.
