Orbán: Hungary’s Education Policy Remains Open To Foreigners Despite Migrant Crisis
- 11 Dec 2015 8:00 AM
Hungary’s education policy will remain open despite the migrant crisis and “we continue to welcome international students”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, adding the government will expand the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship scheme. Orbán told a reception for Stipendium Hungaricum recipients that they have all arrived in Hungary in a regulated way, they abide by the country’s laws and relations are based on mutual respect.
Addressing students from Muslim countries, he said Hungarian politics are based on Christian roots and the teachings of Christianity prohibit an anti-Muslim stance.
“We reject any politics of that kind.” He said the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship scheme will be expanded to include 80 countries instead of the current 45, and the government has already made available the required resources to the ministry.
Human Resources Minister Zoltán Balog said that since the Hungarian government launched the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship scheme as part of the policy of opening to the East in 2013, a total of 1,653 international students have participated.
State secretary for higher education László Palkovics told MTI that the scheme financed by the government currently represents around 4 billion forints (EUR 12.6m) extra income for universities, which will be increased to 9 billion forints next year and 17 billion forints in 2017.
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