A reform pushed by the ultra-conservative government of Viktor Orbán calls into question the status of teachers and undermines their rights.
Is this a turn of the screw against educational freedom in Hungary? The law passed Tuesday, July 4 in parliament arouses the anger of some Hungarian teachers. With this text, teachers lose their civil servant status. They are now obliged to accept geographical mobility and overtime.
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Less autonomous in their pedagogical choices, they will now undergo an annual rating, on which their remuneration will partly depend. Many teachers see it as a revenge of power. For months, many of them have denounced the educational policy of the ultra-conservative government of Viktor Orbán.
The right to strike for teachers in Hungary had already been drastically reduced last year. Dozens of teachers were subsequently fired for protesting. They deplore their working conditions: shortage of staff and salaries crushed by inflation, +25% over one year. The salary of a teacher in Hungary is the equivalent of 500 to 1,000 euros, barely better than a supermarket cashier. After the protests, this law therefore resonates as a pacing. Moreover, it is quite a symbol in Hungary, the ministry in charge of educational issues is none other than the Ministry of the Interior.
Blunt counter-powers
This law is also the symbol of an unchallenged political reign. Viktor Orbán, the Nationalist Prime Minister, triumphed in the elections last year, even after more than ten years in power, even in the face of opponents who had regrouped. He managed to obtain more than half of the votes and two thirds of the seats in Parliament. Suffice to say that the counter-powers, which he fights relentlessly, are largely blunted.
This national base also allows him to take his fights to Brussels. He opposes any distribution of asylum seekers in Europe – a project however supported by a majority of the 27 Member States. He also disputes the effectiveness of European sanctions against Russia, which he has done everything to curb in Brussels.
A standoff with the European Union
In the European class, the report card of Hungary d’Orbán is moreover closer to the dunce cap than to congratulations. The European Union accuses him of breaches of the rule of law: magistrates too subject to pressure from power, insufficient fight against corruption. Bad note and therefore punishment: nearly 30 billion euros in European subsidies are frozen by Brussels, pending reforms. Even if a source within French diplomacy tells us that Budapest has “Make efforts” these last months.
Viktor Orbán has no equal in making Brussels his scapegoat In this law on schools, the Prime Minister has promised large increases for teachers, up to +75% on the pay slip. On one condition, he says: Europe releases the billions to Hungary. Failing to satisfy mathematics teachers, Viktor Orbán could give lessons in political calculation.