The story of
the Hungarian students’ protestation against the government’s antidemocratic
higher-education-reform goes on. Since the 6 requirements of HÖOK (official representational body
of university students) and HaHa (Students Network) were not fulfilled, but on
the contrary, most of them neglected by the government until the deadline of
the students’ ultimatum (February 11, 2013), university and high school
students took a hard line again. The few days that have passed since February
11 saw masses of student demonstrators going to the streets in various cities
across Hungary, the occupation of university buildings and the (partial)
withdrawal of the State Secretary for Education, Rózsa Hoffmann. She continues
her work as State Secretary of Public Education, while there is a new State
Secretary for Higher Education, István Klinghammer. His entrée into his new
function was rather arrogant, since he declared that the protesting students
are only some immature playing young people.
In the morning of February 11
members of the Students Network interrupted several lectures held at the
Faculty of Humanities of ELTE and organized a forum for the students to discuss
the further steps to be chosen in the struggle for the future of Hungarian
higher education. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon HaHa held a demonstration in
Deák square. It is important to note that Students Network functions on the
basis of direct democracy, thus every participant of their forums has the right
to speak to the participants and all the decisions are voted by the
participants. This method makes Haha’s decision making quite slow, therefore
one should admire their results in organizing demonstrations even more.
By the evening of February 11
student demonstrators occupied the buildings of the Faculty of Humanities of
ELTE, Corvinus University and University of Theatre and Film Arts. A part of
the university occupier students spent the night in one of the buildings of
Faculty of Humanities of ELTE and declared a new partial agreement plan
concerning the reform of higher education that is an alternative to the pact
signed on January 21 by Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog and HÖOK
president Dávid Nagy.
Why is HÖOK still cooperating
with HaHa which is not an elected representational body, unlike HÖOK? The
reason is the government’s incorrect (or nasty might be a more appropriate
expression here) attitude towards any kind of democratic organizations, which
was once again proved when Fidesz initiated to include in the Basic Law (that
Hungary has instead of a Constitution) the infamous student contract, the most
controversial innovation of the higher education reform plan, despite the pact
signed with HÖOK on January 21 that promised to alleviate it. The student
contract would oblige all the students who receive student loan while studying
in Hungarian higher education to work in Hungary for twice as many years as the
years spent at the university, without any kind of guarantee to be able to work
in their profession. Consequently HÖOK has no other choice than cooperating
with those who really care for the university’s future: Students Network and
Professors Network, instead of those who have the power to reform higher
education but are only interested in decreasing spending on it (apparently the
government).
Agnes Kelemen,
Hungary
Nationalism Studies
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