Author
In the case of unaccompanied children, the law provides for the right to education. The reception centre and guardians struggle with actively assisting children to enrol in schools and helping them to attend classes. Unaccompanied children who have been granted international protection are enrolled in the mainstream Hungarian child welfare system and the same rules apply to them as to all other children, which is the right to education.[1]
Education for unaccompanied children is in practice provided by a limited number of public schools in Budapest. Access to effective education remained difficult in the last years.
While all unaccompanied minors in the Children’s Home in Fót were enrolled in schools, some complained of the low quality of education in their secondary schools. Schools were not always chosen for students based on their abilities, wishes and potential, but rather on the availability of empty places. There is no official state-funded language learning support for refugee children when entering the school system.[2] This has been pointed out as a systemic issue by Menedék Association along the enrolment of foreign minors to schools.[3]
Unaccompanied children receiving protection status before they turn 18 are eligible to aftercare services that grant them the right to free education and housing. Depending on their individual circumstances and the level of education they are receiving, they may benefit from aftercare until they turn 30.[4] On 31 December 2023, 11 beneficiaries of international protection received aftercare services from the Károlyi István Children’s Home in Fót. There were 3 children with international protection registered in Fót on 31 December 2023.[5] On 31 December 2023. 5 beneficiaries of international protection received aftercare services in Fót.[6]
In the case of children with families, the situation is also difficult. Hardly any school is ready to offer the specialised care and support refugee children need. The growing anti-refugee sentiment may make it even more difficult for schools to admit children receiving international protection for fear of facing a backlash from parents or donors.[7]
Both unaccompanied children and children staying with their families are provided on a weekly basis assistance in their integration to the education system by the Jesuit Refugee Service and cooperating volunteers. They are helped with Hungarian language skill development as well as with specific school subjects. The Jesuit Refugee Service worked with 16 high-school children on a weekly basis, and they assisted 25 students and their parents with their education in 2022. The teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language was still one of the main elements of the Jesuits activities in 2023. In addition to adults, in 2023 they worked with 23 secondary school age students on a weekly basis, studying in 7 different schools in Budapest. Monitoring the progress of enrolled students was also one of their core services, as was intensive contacting with all the actors involved. Two camps for secondary school pupils were organised by the Jesuits during the summer of 2023 (drama and English camps, the latter in two groups by language level) In Budapest, they also organised other leisure activities, teacher workshops and a teachers’ club to support teachers in 2023. The charity organisation offered weekly Hungarian language as a foreign language classes and informal supportive conversations for unaccompanied minor children in the Károlyi István Children’s Home in Fót. [8] Kalunba also provided an afterschool programme for children and young adults in 2020 and 2021 and 2022 entailing correspondence with the schools and the educational support of the children. No report was received from Kalunba regarding 2023.
The teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language was still one of the main elements of the JRS activities in 2024. In addition to adults, they worked with 35 primary and secondary school age students on a weekly basis, studying in 5 different schools in Budapest. Monitoring the progress of enrolled students was also one of their core services, as was maintaining intensive contact with all stakeholders. In the summer of 2024, they organized 5 multi-day daycare sessions, two of which focused on the English language, one focused on theatre and drama, and two were for the youngest, with a story week and a series of school preparation sessions. Compared to 2023, the age distribution was wider; in 2024, they welcomed not only secondary school students, but also primary school students in addition to kindergarten students. They also continued the teacher clubs launched in 2023, which support teachers who work with children with refugee and migrant backgrounds. The charity organisation offered weekly Hungarian language as a foreign language classes and informal supportive conversations for unaccompanied minor children in the Károlyi István Children’s Home in Fót.[9]
According to the JRS, educational institutions have a fundamentally inclusive and supportive attitude towards their clients, although they often face significant capacity shortages. Typically, places are available in Hungarian kindergartens, but enrolment challenges remain, mainly due to underfunding and limited resources for language support. Schools still do not have a package of teaching materials and tools that would enable the gradual acquisition of the Hungarian language and local curriculum, which would also support the integration of non-Hungarian speaking children into school. Institutions are not well equipped to deal with very special needs – this concerns autistic and mentally disabled school-age children, whose placement is not only a challenge for the Hungarian system, but in their case the lack of Hungarian language skills is an additional aggravating circumstance. The needs assessment also highlighted that children with disabilities face additional challenges. The slowness of diagnostic processes – and sometimes high fees – limits timely access to special education and health resources, and the lack of recognition of disability further complicates access to support. Parents reported a lack of resources for children with special education and upbringing needs, such as personalized materials and services, both in schools and other institutions. There are few classes specifically designed for children with neuro-atypical development in schools, and if they exist, they are mostly inaccessible to refugee/asylum-seeking children. For them, private paid solutions are generally out of the question. The secondary school admission system makes it difficult to continue children’s education appropriately and there is no alternative. There is no mandatory language support available to third-country students not coming from Ukraine. In many places, there is no distinction in the level of expectations from Hungarian-speaking students, so continuous failure leads to further lagging behind, lack of motivation, and school stress. Thhe 2024 needs assessment showed that education remains a significant concern among refugee families in Hungary. The phenomenon of students studying exclusively through distance learning or combining distance and face-to-face education continued in 2024. Occasional bullying further complicates the children’s school experience.[10]
Higher and adult education
Beneficiaries of international protection have the same rights to access education as Hungarian nationals.[11] Nevertheless, there are administrative barriers regarding higher education to which beneficiaries are exposed. On the one hand, beneficiaries face problems regarding the obligation to provide proof of their secondary education upon accessing university, since they cannot contact their country of origin in case they do not have the necessary certificates. According to Hungarian law, the head of the university might give exemption from such administrative obligations to refugees.[12] Nevertheless, there is no protocol to follow in this regard. In 2019, Wolffhardt et al. wrote the following:[13] ‘Barriers that negatively impact on access to the higher (upper secondary, postsecondary/tertiary) levels of education are more widespread and exist in […] Hungary, […]. Mostly, they relate to proving previous stages of educational attainment without authorities regulating the equivalence procedures or proceedings in the absence of proper documentation.’
Menedék Association reports that when beneficiaries of international protection submit their certificates to the national authorities for national recognition, the proceeding authority sometimes contacts the competent institution in the country of origin, thereby potentially exposing beneficiaries to the authorities of the persecuting country of origin.[14] The HHC is aware of a positive example from 2020. A beneficiary of international protection fleeing their country of origin during their academic years had no official proof of secondary school graduation in their home. The university accepted an official certificate issued by the NDGAP stating that their highest education is secondary school as a replacement for their secondary school certificate.
Besides the administrative hurdles, the comprehensive study of the Menedék Association on ‘Opportunities for supporting the higher education studies of beneficiaries of international protection’ from 2021, identified further barriers for beneficiaries of international protection regarding access to education, namely the lack of Hungarian language skills and of state financial support programmes.[15] Additionally, the absence of ‘catch-up courses’ for beneficiaries of international protection and the low number of secondary education institutions makes it difficult for refugees to access higher education. The results of the study published by the Menedék Association as well as experiences of refugees with regard to access to education was discussed at a panel discussion organised by the She4She and the HHC on 20 June 2021.[16] Menedék Association furthermore points out that one of the factors hindering beneficiaries of international protection in accessing higher and adult education is that in many cases they do not have documents (diplomas, degrees) issued in their country of origin. If they do and they submit the documents for recognition in Hungary, the determining authority sometimes contacts the educational institution in the country of origin.[17] Menedék Association reported that similar problems continued to exist in 2024.
Young adults and adults have the same access to vocational trainings as nationals. However, access is hindered by the fact that the trainings granted by law are only available in Hungarian, thereby the specific needs of beneficiaries of international protection as a vulnerable group are not taken into account.[18] On the other hand, beneficiaries of international protection face no administrative obstacles in accessing such trainings.[19]
Young adults and adults have access only to a limited number of courses offered by NGOs. Kalunba offered Hungarian language course free of charge for refugees who have just been granted status. The organisation provided supervision for children of the parents attending the language class. The Jesuit Refugee Service with the help of volunteers also provided Hungarian language coaching for adults throughout 2020 – 2024.[20]
Next Step Hungary Association (formerly MigHelp) is an adult education institute. According to their website,[21] the association offers among others Hungarian, German, French, and English classes, computer training, classes in vehicle driving, and provides child day care for migrants and refugees. Their programmes are free of charge although according to the organisation, spoken English on an intermediate level is a precondition to attend their courses. The Kids’ Coding courses were attended and completed by 1 refugee. The organisation attributes the low number of enrolled people with international protection status to the restrictive asylum policies implemented by the Hungarian government.[22]
Next Step Hungary Association has a practice of prioritizing vulnerable migrants coming from countries of concern whenever possible. On average, approximately 50-60% of the Association’s courses and activities are attended by vulnerable migrants. Next Step noted that due to irregular working hours, some of the enrolled people with international protection status were unable to fully commit to starting and/or completing courses that were much needed to improve their employment status.[23] As for 2023, the association reports that their Hungarian Language Courses were attended by 127 participants, their robotics and coding training for teachers, their robotics and coding courses for children by 168 participants, their B category Drivers’ License course by 11 participants, their hand craft session by 65 persons, their education workshops on the Hungarian education system and the housing market in Budapest by 80 participants, their summer camps for children on robotics by 43 participants. The association stated that around 65% of the participants are of Ukrainian background, while the remaining people are – supposedly – of other migratory or refugee background.[24] Next Step Hungary did not provide updated reports for the year 2024.
The Central European University relaunched its Open Learning Initiative (OLIve) programme in 2021[25] specifically targeting asylum seekers and refugees in the autumn semester of 2020 after it was on a pause for two years due to the ambiguity of the so-called ‘Stop Soros’ legislation package,[26] which came into force in August 2018 levying a 25% tax on financing or activities ‘supporting’ immigration or ‘promoting’ migration in Hungary. Courses were offered throughout 2021-2022. It was announced, however, that the programme is going to be terminated in 2023.[27] In 2024, OLIve resumed its activities, but as an association registered under Hungarian law.[28]
The EC in its 2024 rule of law report highlighted Hungary’s failure to repeal legislation ‘in particular the immigration tax’[29] and ECtHR communicated a case in which the Open Society Institute Budapest Foundation is challenging this act.[30]
[1] Practice-informed observation by the HHC, January 2024.
[2] Wolffhardt et al., The European benchmark for refugee reintegration: A comparative analysis of the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism in 14 EU countries, 2019, here, 141.
[3] Information received from Menedék Association on 1 February 2024 by the HHC.
[4] Section 77(1)(d), (2) and Section 93 Child Protection Act.
[5] Information provided by the Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Child Protection on 20 February 2024.
[6] Information provided by the Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Child Protection on 28 February 2025.
[7] Practice-informed observation by the HHC, January 2024.
[8] Information received from the Jesuit Refugee Service by the HHC on 3 March 2023 and on 12 April 2024.
[9] Information received from the Jesuit Refugee Service by the HHC on 28 February 2025.
[10] Information received from the Jesuit Refugee Service by the HHC on 28 February 2025.
[11] Section 39(1)(b) of Act CCIV of 2011 on Higher Education.
[12] Section 4(2) of Act C of 2001.
[13] Wolffhardt et al., The European benchmark for refugee reintegration: A comparative analysis of the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism in 14 EU countries, 2019, 139.
[14] Information received from Menedék Association by the HHC on 28 February 2023.
[15] See NIEM, Opportunities for Supporting Higher Education Studies of Beneficiaries of International Protection in Hungary, Policy Brief 8, 2021, available here.
[16] The recording of the discussion is available here: HHC, ‘Panel discussion about refugee women’s access to education’, 2 July 2021, available here.
[17] Information provided by Menedék Association, 1 February 2024.
[18] Wolffhardt et al., The European benchmark for refugee reintegration: A comparative analysis of the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism in 14 EU countries, 2019, here, 113.
[19] Wolffhardt et al., The European benchmark for refugee reintegration: A comparative analysis of the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism in 14 EU countries, 2019, here, 114.
[20] Information received from the Jesuit Refugee Service by the HHC on 3 March 2023, 12 April 2024 and 28 February 2025.
[21] See: Next Step Hungary Association, available here.
[22] For more information, see previous updates of AIDA, country report : Hungary, available here.
[23] Information received from Next Step Hungary Association by the HHC on 6 February 2023.
[24] Information received from Next Step Hungary Association on 2 May 2024.
[26] HHC, Criminalisation and Taxation – The summary of legal amendments adopted in the summer of 2018 to intimidate human rights defenders in Hungary, 25 September 2018, available here.
[27] Mérce: Megszüntetné a CEU a menekültek népszerű oktatási programját, 4 February 2023, available in Hungarian here.
[28] OLIve, OLIve Weekend Program Budapest, available here
[29] EC, 2024 Rule of Law Report – Country chapter on the rule of law situation in Hungary, SWD(2024) 817 Final, 24 july 2024, available here.
[30] The Open Society Institute Budapest Foundation v. Hungary, Application No. 44928/19, available here.