Education Policy Outlook 2018

Hungary

Context

Hungary scored lower than the OECD average in science in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 476 points, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science in Hungary has declined across PISA cycles, with an average score change of -8.9 score points, while reading performance has stayed the same and mathematics performance has decreased. Socio-economic status had the largest impact in the OECD on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 21.4% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has not changed since 2006. There was no significant gender difference in science performance in PISA 2015. Immigrant students make up 2.7% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Hungary, a lower proportion than the OECD average of 12.5%. Unlike in many OECD countries, there was no significant performance gap in PISA 2015 between immigrant and non-immigrant students in science, with a score difference of just -4 points.

Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC and pre-primary education was above the OECD average in 2015, at 81.2% (OECD average: 77.8%). Children begin kindergarten at age 3. Generally the programme lasts three years. Education-only programmes do not exist nationally, but there are nationwide integrated programmes. The formal curriculum used for integrated programmes (which include education and childcare services) is delivered by qualified teachers. Compulsory education in Hungary begins at age 3 in kindergarten, continues in school at age 6 or 7 and ends at age 16, longer than the typical duration across the OECD. A small share of students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 11, which is earlier than the OECD average of age 14. Upper secondary education is divided into four-year, six-year and eight-year upper secondary general school (gimnázium), upper secondary vocational school (szakközépiskola), and vocational school (szakiskola). As of 2016, all programmes prepare students for the secondary school leaving exam, which provides entry into tertiary education. Since 2016, the two VET pathways are called vocational grammar school (szakgimnázium) and vocational secondary school (szakközépiskola).

Students in vocational secondary schools can obtain a vocational qualification and enter the labour market at the end of the third year or stay in school for an additional two-year period to complete the secondary school leaving exam. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment in Hungary is higher than the OECD average, with an attainment rate of 15.5% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are not employed or in further education or training) are close to the OECD average, at 15.5%, compared to the OECD average of 15.3%. The percentage of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary-level qualification is among the lowest in the OECD, at 30.4% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 43.1%. Employment rates for 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education are close to the OECD average. In 2016, 82.4% were employed, while the OECD average rate was 82.9%.

Figure 7.11. Selected indicators compared with the average: Hungary

Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.

Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.

Statlink

Evolution of key education policy priorities

Table 7.11. Evolution of key education policy priorities, Hungary (2008-17)

Identified by	Equity and quality	Preparing students for the future
Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171	The OECD identified the need to tackle school segregation between regions. Overall PISA scores have been declining, and they have fallen below the OECD average in all assessed subjects. [2016]	The OECD identified persisting challenges in improving the overall quality of VET and decreasing the high unemployment rate among VET graduates. The enrolment rates in tertiary education have been increasing, with uneven labour market outcomes and skills mismatch, as students graduate in fields with only low employment growth. [2016]
Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016‑17	Hungary previously reported the challenge of reducing inequities in students’ knowledge and skills. The PISA 2015 results revealed an increase in the performance gap between low and high achievers. In 2017, this challenge persists, and early school leaving was identified as an additional challenge. [2013; 2016-17]	Hungary previously reported the challenge of broadening access to higher education. It also stated challenges in meeting labour market needs in certain professions, which persisted in 2017. [2013; 2016-17]

Note 1: See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot.

Selected education policy responses

Hungary’s Decree on the Basic National Programme of Kindergarten Education came into force in 2013, outlining the principles and tasks of kindergarten education. Also, starting in 2015, participation in ECEC became mandatory from age 3, with minimum attendance of four hours per day. Compulsory kindergarten education is expected to improve the chances of disadvantaged children and may reduce early selection and early school leaving (in 2016, the share of 18-24 year-olds who had either dropped out of school or left work reached 12.4%, the highest share since 2007) (Eurostat, 2017a).

• Progress or impact: In 2012, the enrolment rates of 3-year-olds were at 74%, with an increase to 81% by 2015 (OECD, 2014a; OECD, 2017d). In 2015, 94.7% of Hungarian children between age 4 and the starting age of compulsory education were participating in ECEC, compared to 94.5% in 2012. By 2016, enrolment for children from age 4 to the starting age of compulsory education had increased to 95.3%, above the European benchmark of 95% (EC, 2016b). The ECEC participation rate of Roma children of the same age is 91%, the highest in the region (FRA, 2016).

In 2016, the Szabóky Adolf vocational scholarship scheme (Szabóky Adolf Szakképzési Ösztöndíj) replaced the Vocational School Scholarship programme in Hungary. It aims to make more attractive to students the VET occupations and careers of skilled workers that the government has classified as being in high demand in the labour market. It also aims to prevent grade repetition and early school leaving of at-risk students. The programme is financed by the training sub-fund of the National Employment Fund. Merit-based scholarships are granted to students enrolled in full-time education for an occupation with shortages on the labour market. Eligible students are required to: 1) obtain training in 1 of the 20 shortage occupations, as defined each school year by the government and the development and training committees established in Hungary; 2) achieve a minimum grade-point average of 2.51 (5 is the highest) for vocational secondary school students and 3.01 for vocational grammar schools students; and 3) have less than seven hours of unjustified absence from school. If students fulfil the requirements, they receive EUR 32 per month in the first semester, which may be increased to as much as EUR 160 in the following semesters, depending on performance and type of vocational school attended. If their average falls below 2.51, secondary vocational school students have to take a catch‑up course to improve their results and regain eligibility for the scholarship.

• Progress or impact: VET participation has been low in Hungary. In 2015, the overall participation of students in VET programmes was 23.2% in upper secondary VET, less than half the EU average of 47.3% (Eurostat, 2017b). Yet, at around 70%, Hungary has a comparatively high percentage of VET students in work-based learning compared to other EU countries, considering all programmes with a practical element taking place at a company or at a school (EC, 2017d). The programme, implemented in 2016, can potentially have a positive impact on early school leaving rates, which peaked at 12.4% in 2016, the highest rate since 2007 (Eurostat, 2017a). In 2014, almost half of the overall student dropout was students from vocational secondary school, which represented only 21% of the overall school population (Fehérvári, 2015). The programme has also the potential to improve the employment rates of VET graduates, which are generally high (84.4% in 2016). But VET graduates who complete the vocational secondary school track (szakközépiskola) are more prone to unemployment than students in vocational grammar schools (szakgimnázium) (EC, 2017d). Also, additional EU evidence asserts that the curricula revision potentially will not improve the level of basic skills and competencies (EC, 2017e). Adult participation rates in lifelong learning increased from 3.0% in 2011 to 6.3% in 2016, but remained below the EU average of 10.8% in 2016 (Eurostat, 2017c).

Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries

• In 2017, as a result of declining performance in PISA 2015, Hungary started a Revision of the National Core Curriculum (2012), which entails curricular regulatory instruments. It was to be completed by the end of 2017 but has been delayed (see EC, 2018). Implementation is planned to start in 2019.

• In 2016, the Public Education Bridge Programme and the VET Bridge Programme replaced the previous HÍD I and HÍD II (Bridge) programmes (2011). Like the previous programmes, their aim is to assist students who did not complete primary education to enrol in upper secondary education or obtain the knowledge necessary to enter the labour market, in line with the overall EU strategic objectives. The programmes include complex pedagogical activities, with learning assistance, social and cultural support, and skills and personality development. The new Public Education Bridge Programme targets early school leavers from primary school who are over age 16 or those not admitted to any secondary school after completion of primary education. It intends to fill the gaps in primary school by helping students to continue and finish primary school and to enrol in vocational education, as well as offering individual, differentiated development programmes to strengthen self-confidence and motivation. The VET Bridge Programme also provides help to continue and finish primary school, but it introduces students to VET at the same time. It stresses the importance of providing educational foundations and further developing students’ competencies and motivation for lifelong learning. The VET Bridge Programme aims to provide students with the opportunity to either enter the labour market with a partial qualification or continue their VET training in secondary school.

More information available at: www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.