János Csák, the minister of culture and innovation, has revealed that more than 126,000 secondary school-leavers have applied to study at Hungarian colleges and universities in September.
The minister said the number has increased from 99,000 last year, adding that the rising number of applicants indicated that Hungary’s higher education system “has become more attractive”. He said the government implemented many changes in the past 5 years with the aim of developing a nation of “economically strong, culturally confident, self-sufficient families here and in the Carpathian Basin”. Csák welcomed that more students than ever applied from disadvantaged regions and that many indicated a desire to become school and kindergarten teachers. State Secretary Balázs Hankó attributed the increase in the number of applicants to a revamped entrance system, noting that 20% of applicants chose majors in engineering, science, maths and computer technology. Hankó also noted that 11 Hungarian universities were among the world’s top 5%.