Student protest against tuition fees in Hungary

Tuition fee hikes spread to other European countries. Maybe Hungarian tuition fees are not as mediatised as in the United Kingdom but it is worth mentioning them.

According the OECD report, Education at a Glance 2011, during the 2008-2009 academic year, 25% of full-time Hungarian students were paying tuition fees to access higher education, and the vast majority (75%) were state financed with a scholarship. In 2013, it has recently been announced 80% of students will now face paying annual tuition fees of between $446 and $892 (HUF50,000 and HUF100,000)*. Although the number of part-timescholarships in Hungary will increase from 5,000 in 2011 to 46,330 on 2013, full-time scholarships will, nonetheless, dramatically drop from 53,450 in 2011 to 10,480 in 2013. Furthermore, if students want to apply for a loan, it will be done under some conditions such as after graduation they will have to work in Hungary for twice as long as their study duration otherwise, they find a job abroad, they will have to pay back the outstanding amount. Students protested in mid-December 2012 in Budapest against the introduction of tuition fees, concerned poorer students will be those suffering the most.

*Exchange rate of the 4^th January 2013.