The advisory board of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) approved Hungary’s report on the National Qualifications Framework, Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education Zoltán Maruzsa announced on Wednesday.
In 2008, the European Union requested all member states to establish national qualification frameworks that are in line with the EQF, in order to make qualifications transparent and comparable across the EU. The approval is the result of seven years’ work of the three sectors responsible for education (higher education, vocational and adult training, and public education).
Concerning the eight-level EQF system, Deputy State Secretary for Public Education Imre Sipos explained that graduating the first four classes of a Hungarian elementary school represents level 1, completing elementary school represents level 2, secondary education is level 3, while concluding vocational training equals to level 4.
Deputy State Secretary for Vocational Traning László Otrobina said that Hungary’s National Qualifications Register (OKJ) was also comprehensively overviewed and qualifications were categorized as either level 4 or level 5, with the latter accounting for vocational training following secondary education. This step was taken to ensure a higher prestige for vocational training.
Level 5 equals to a higher national diploma, level 6 to a bachelor’s degree, while level 7 corresponds to a master’s degree and level 8 a doctorate degree.
Mr Maruzsa said that as of summer 2015, all graduation certificates and diplomas will have to contain the EQF equivalent level, thus facilitating employment for Hungarians across the EU.