Students protest against introduction of tuition fees

By Jan Petter Myklebust. Hundreds of students blocked a bridge over the Danube in Budapest last Monday and several thousand marched to parliament on Wednesday to protest against cutbacks in scholarships and the introduction of tuition fees for 80% of Hungarian students from 2013.
Most new entrants to Hungarian higher education institutions will have to pay fees of between HUF50,000 and HUF100,000 (US$232 to US$464) per semester from next year.
Students will also have to sign a contract with the government under the student loan scheme, Diakhitel 2.0, pledging to stay and work in Hungary for at least twice as long as their studies lasted. If they leave Hungary, they will have to pay back outstanding tuition fees. This clause will apply for 20 years after graduation. Read more...