The Hungarian Education Authority has uncovered many irregularities relating to the operations of foreign higher education institutions, and has determined that several universities are operating in Hungary unlawfully.
It transpires form the report that several institutions are acting unlawfully when they ussie foreign university degrees here in Hungary while not conducting teaching n their country of origin, as prescribed by Hungarian regulations. No university can stand above Hungarian law. The Government will be making the Hungarian regulations stricter to include the fact that universities from outside the EU can only hold courses and issue degrees in Hungary on the basis of an international treaty.
The Education Authority began the procedure in the second half of 2016 in view of the fact that 5-year operating permits will expire this year, in 2017. During the review of 5-year operating licenses, several operational problems were uncovered that do not conform to Hungarian law. They may be categorised in the following groups: the higher education instruction is not holding courses within the required legal framework, programmes are not accredited, the diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions are not nationally recognised, the foreign higher education institution does not qualify as a nationally recognised higher education institution in its native country, institutions are not providing the required information for the public register, and the higher education institution is holding courses that it has not officially recorded.
The cases in which the foreign institution does not comply with the fundamental criteria set down in §76 (1) of Act CCIV of 2011, meaning it institution does not qualify as a nationally recognised higher education institution in its native country and therefore cannot issue diplomas that provide a nationally recognised degree in Hungary with relation to the courses it offers, may be regarded as critical.
A similar problem occurs when an institution is classified as a nationally recognised higher education institution in its country of origin, but the courses it offers in Hungary do not provide a nationally recognised higher education degree.
Many foreign higher education institutions operate in Hungary using operating licenses. Characteristic of this method is that it is established for a short period within the framework of an international initiative and is incapable of continuing to hold courses for a prolonged period, but the partners involved fail to perform the legal steps required to terminate operations. Another frequent problem is the fact that in English-speaking states and in our experience to a certain extent also in Asian countries, accreditation by an independent external higher education accreditation agency or organisation (programme accreditation) is not a mandatory element for enabling a higher education institution to hold courses.
Based on the review of operation licenses, it may be stated that there are irregularities and deficiencies with relation to the vast majority of the foreign institutions involved, which justifies the further tightening and clarification of regulations.