‘The record-breaking enrolment data for teacher training show that the teaching profession is becoming increasingly attractive to young people; the new teacher career path law has increased interest in the teaching profession, and the prestige and appeal of a career in teaching have grown,’ Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Bence Rétvári said in a statement on 2 August.
According to the statement, this year, 18,845 people applied for teacher training, of which 10,514 were admitted, of whom 9,674 will be studying on a government scholarship.
The number of admitted students has not been this high in the past six years,
and this figure may increase further with additional admissions, he indicated. This year’s enrolment of ten and a half thousand teacher trainees is significantly higher than the nine thousand enrolled ten years ago in 2013, or the five thousand enrolled twenty years ago in 2003, Rétvári noted.
‘We, therefore, have good chances that the teacher workforce will continue to grow in the coming years. It is a great success that the the number of students studying to become educators is not decreasing but has increased by 67 per cent this year,’ expressed the secretary of state, adding that ‘the most significant increase is in the training of primary and kindergarten teachers, where the number of admissions has doubled, but there is also nearly a one-third increase in the enrolment for middle school and secondary school teacher training.’
Rétvári stated: ‘For almost one and a half years, left-wing parties and trade unions have been continuously trying to dissuade as many young people as possible from choosing the teaching profession and encouraging those working in kindergartens and schools to quit their jobs. Left-wing parties and trade unions claimed that due to the new teacher career path law, there would be fewer applicants for the teaching profession. The reality turned out to be the opposite of that. With the outstandingly high enrolment figures, the teacher trainees have given a resounding response to the new law and the left-wing’s constant disparagement of the education system. Despite the left-wing’s instigation, the teaching profession remains one of the most popular,’ he stated.
He also pointed out that
the new pay grade system of the teacher career path law is much more favourable for beginner teachers
than the previous civil service salary scale was. As the new career system includes performance-based pay, young teachers have a chance to achieve higher salaries. The new career path eliminates compulsory punitive elements in the remuneration of young teachers, the state secretary underscored.
‘It is essential that the new teacher career law has laid the groundwork for significant teacher salary increases. If the EU does not arbitrarily withhold the funding Hungary is legally entitled to, the ten per cent salary increase both this and next year can more than double. This will lead to a one million forints average salary for teachers five years from now, when the current enrollees graduate,’ the secretary of state highlighted.
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Source: Hungarian Conservative/MTI
