MGYOSZ looked to the improvements to Germany’s dual education system, which combines vocational education with apprenticeships, as a paradigm when drafting the recommendations over a period of more than two years, the vice president of MGYOSZ said.

Vocational education in Hungary is in need of a broad renewal, while maintaining good practices, Gábor Gablini told a press conference.

The most important element of MGYOSZ’s approach is the aim to motivate families, employers and people who work in educational institutions, he added.

The government is open to the proposals which have been sent to the Innovation and Technology Ministry, Gablini said. Patching up the current system will not allow it to manage new challenges, which is why MGYOSZ is recommending a complex solution, he said.

MGYOSZ recommends in the package requiring pupils to pass a standardised test of basic reading, writing, comprehension and arithmetic skills before leaving primary school. Pupils who fail the test could be offered a spot in a one- or two-year remedial programme which they would have to complete before entering vocational school.

The aim of the proposal is to ensure students are sufficiently equipped to start vocational school and reduce the number of dropouts. MGYOSZ also proposes raising the compulsory school age to 18 from 16 at present.

Apprenticeship stipend rates would be set at 40% or 60% of the minimum wage, depending on the type of vocational school, according to the package.

Students who complete the highest level of secondary vocational school, the vocational gymnasium, should have the same chances of getting into university as those who graduate from conventional gymnasiums, MGYOSZ says.