Minority Report: Educating Roma Intellectuals in Hungary

  • 1 Sep 2025 12:59 PM
Minority Report: Educating Roma Intellectuals in Hungary
Roma can only become middle-class if backed by an intellectual class, Attila Sztojka, the state secretary for relations with the Roma minority, said at a ceremonial event on Saturday. "While other countries are still looking for excuses, Hungary has set an example for Europe, since here we are raising a new group of Roma intellectuals" true to its roots, he said.

Speaking at the annual opening ceremony of the academic year of the Christian Roma College Network in Kaposvar, Sztojka said the results of the network, which receives approximately 700 million forints in government funding annually, spoke for themselves: 11 vocational colleges operate in 9 cities, 746 students have received university degrees, 20 have doctoral qualifications, and more than 90 percent of graduates are employed in the labour market.

He noted that the network was established in 2011 to provide professional support for higher education studies, while also helping to deepen Roma culture and foster a worldview based on Christian morality.

The launch of the network marked the beginning of an era of hope and faith, he said. Hopes back then of achieving a new middle-class had now become a reality, he added.

Zoltan Kovacs, the director of the Szentandrassy Istvan University Roma College of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), called the Roma college movement diverse, including church- and university-run institutions.

Peter Voros, the director general of MATE’s campus in Kaposvar, said the Szentandrassy Roma college was one of the most active colleges at the university.

Timea Karpati, deputy mayor of Kaposvar of the ruling Fidesz party, said the city is "building the future on honest work and knowledge, for Roma and non-Roma together".

Renata Fixl, the office leader of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, said results brought people together and built bridges.

 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

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