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Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Hungarian teachers demonstrate against the government's education policies in Budapest Sunday March 13,2016

 A man with a Guy Fawkes mask holds a banner reading
Tens of thousands of people joined striking Hungarian teachers in the capital Budapest to demonstrate against the government's education policies on Sunday March 13,2016
 
The protest was announced by Teachers Trade Union president Mrs. István Galló after learning from Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog that the government was not willing to make systemic changes to Hungarian education.

Hungarian teachers are demanding
"For our children!"
  • A radical decrease in the number of subjects taught
  • A reduction in the number of classes teachers are required to hold
  • The end of the requirement that students remain in primary school until 4 pm
  • The end of fixed work times (teachers should be free to come and go according to their work schedule-ed.)
  • The restoration of the National Public Education Council and the Public Education Policy Council
  • The restoration of the employer rights of institutional directors
  • The legal codification of technical training centers
  • The restoration of the teachers’ right to choose their own textbooks
  • An increase in the wage of some 50,000 public education system employees who are not teachers
“Education is not only a matter for teachers but a public matter and a matter for Hungarian society,” says the organizers of today’s national demonstration in the capital city

Several leaders of opposition political parties have declared their support for the teachers and encouraged supporters to join protest but without party insignia or banners.

It was the biggest anti-government rally for two years.
 Thousands of protesters join striking teachers in Budapest (15 March 2016)
The last time such large numbers of people took to the streets of Budapest was in Nov 2014 when protestors took to the streets to denounce Prime Minister Viktor Orban for allegedly employing corrupt officials and being too close to Russia.

The protesters are demanding an end to the centralisation of education, more curriculum choice for schools, better conditions for teachers and fairer pay.

The latest opinion poll suggests strong support for the teachers, even among voters of the governing Fidesz party.

The government, in power since 2010, has pledged to address some of the teachers' main concerns, including the centralisation question and increased bureaucracy.

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