Main challenges of Hungarian public education with special focus on inequality: An international comparison

Abstract

This article demonstrates the idiosyncrasies of the Hungarian public educational system (primary, secondary and adult education) through regional and global comparisons. The main sources for comparison are data from the OECD and Eurostat as well as empirical research in Hungary. The research focused on educational attainment and the structure of the educational system, inequalities within the Hungarian educational system, educational attainment and employment, teacher salaries and teacher selection policy issues. The article proved that Hungary’s public education system is the most unequal among the OECD countries, the structures of the secondary programs are biased, employment is relatively low, the rate of adult education is among the lowest, and the quality of teachers is below average because of counter-selection processes. Most of these problems can be traced to the lack of resources and the processes generated by demographic and social changes that have not been followed by adequate policy changes. The study deals with the educational disadvantages for Roma children as well. While this phenomenon affects Europe as a whole, it affects Hungary to a much greater extent.