The government wants competitive, efficient and sustainable higher education based on real values and intends to play an active role in establishing this, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said while opening the academic year at the Budapest Business School on Monday.
The minister said transformation must be rational, meaning certain courses would be offered by fewer institutions, but the level of quality will improve. He added that the state budget for higher education will not be curtailed, but the methods and targets of distribution will be different.
He also said higher education will take into account the needs of the economy and those of Hungary in both regional and global perspectives, adding that unique institutional profiles and territorial aspects will also be taken into account.
It is important not to discontinue higher education in places where this would leave no alternative; the minister underlined and went on to urge a revision of the Bologna Process, which has been running for ten years now. He said revision work had already begun.
Zoltán Balog said he was hopeful that the next session of the Higher Education Roundtable on Tuesday would discuss new directions and said further amendments of the higher education bill were in the pipeline. The new system of university chancellors will be rolled out in September and will add a key element to university leadership. The new system will not affect either the autonomy of instruction and research or the self-government of universities, the minister added.
Zoltán Balog said the annual cash flow of Hungarian universities amounted to HUF 480 billion (EUR 1.52 billion), including HUF 170 billion (EUR 541 million) provided by the state budget. Budapest Business School is the most popular college, the minister asserted, which proves colleges can also offer quality education, and not only universities count.
This year 5,570 students will begin the year at the Budapest Business School a number only exceeded by five major universities. The college also has foreign language sections, dual tuition and extensive links to 200 sister institutions in 46 countries.