Hungary Social Briefing: the Reasons for the Hungarian Higher Education System’S Reform Csaba Moldicz
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 40, No. 3 (HU) May 2021 Hungary social briefing: The reasons for the Hungarian higher education system’s reform Csaba Moldicz 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: CHen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 The reasons for the Hungarian higher education system’s reform The development of the Hungarian economy is characterized by a deep asymmetric dependence on the West for technology. The asymmetric dependence can be mitigated by trade and investment diversification - the Hungarian Eastern Policy summarizes these efforts, however long-term effects can only be achieved by securing an excellent business environment in which the supply and quality of human resources can be improved in addition to the physical environment. The Hungarian higher education system is key to improving this business environment. Introduction This briefing looks at the main features of higher education reform, focusing on the transformation of public universities into a hybrid model managed by boards of trustees. In the new model, according to which most universities will function, private actors can also contribute to the better functioning of universities. The briefing first presents the main economic reasons for the transformation, then it places Hungarian universities in the international landscape and also describes the political discourse on the transformation. Innovation and digital performance Hungary's performance in the digital economy and innovation lags behind the EU average, although both elements are key to catching up with more advanced countries. The report Innovation Scoreboard 2020, published every year by the European Commission, distinguishes four groups of countries: innovation leaders, strong innovators, moderate innovators, and modest innovators. Hungary belongs to the group of moderate innovators. From the Central and Eastern European region, no country has moved up to the group of innovation leaders, only Estonia is classified as a strong innovator, while all other countries in the region are classified as moderate or modest innovators. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) of the European Commission shows a similar state of these countries, as it can be seen in table 1, where only Estonia can be described as above the EU average. 1 Table 1. Basic innovation indicators of the Central and Eastern European countries Research and Digital Innovation development Economy and Scoreboard 2020 expenditures in terms Society Index ranking*** of GDP ranking** (2018, %) * EU-27 2.18 - - Bulgaria 0.76 28 26 Czech 1.90 17 16 Republic Estonia 1.41 7 11 Croatia 0.97 20 25 Latvia 0.64 18 23 Lithuania 0.94 14 19 Hungary 1.53 21 22 Poland 1.21 23 24 Romania 0.50 26 27 Slovenia 1.95 16 15 Slovakia 0.84 22 21 Montenegro 0.50 - - North 0.37 - - Macedonia Serbia 0.92 - - Source: * Eurostat database; ** European Commission (2020b). The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single- market/en/digital-economy-and-society-index-desi *** European Commission (2020a). European Innovation Scoreboard 2020. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/innovation/scoreboards_en To improve these figures and indicators, Hungary needs a modern and internationally competitive higher education. Let's see how Hungarian universities compare internationally. 2 Hungarian universities in international rankings In April 2021, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) published its latest ranking, which included Hungarian universities. The best ranked is the University of Szeged (501-510), the second best is the Debrecen University (521-530) and the third best is the Eoetvoes Loránd University in Budapest (601-650). Looking at rankings in specific fields, there are some fields in which Hungarian universities performed relatively great, however the rankings in the natural sciences are not the best. The Budapest University of Technology and Economics is ranked 273rd in engineering and the Semmelweis University is ranked 272nd in medical sciences. The Times Higher Education ranking (Emerging Economies Universities) focuses on emerging markets. In 2021, Semmelweis University ranks 64th among the 606 universities on the list. The Eötvös Lóránd University (147th), the University of Pécs (155th) and the Szeged University (195th) made it to the top 200, while other Hungarian universities performed less successfully and did not receive ranks but margins. (E.g., Debrecen University was ranked between 201 and 250.) Although significant differences in rankings can be observed between Hungarian universities, the main message is that Hungarian universities do not perform well in international comparison. The argument for transformation is not only to be found in the rather poor performance in the rankings, but mainly in the radical changes that the economy and society are undergoing now, which must be reflected in the way how universities function. Change, which is best captured in the digitalization process has socio-economic consequences and it requires universities to adapt to change more easily and smoothly. At this point, it must be made clear that Hungary is not alone in its ambition to modernize this sector, this is currently the international mainstream. The Hungarian government attaches great importance to improving the international ranking of higher educational institutions. Part of this effort is to internationalize Hungarian universities; to cooperate with and attract the world's leading universities in this field. It is clear that the establishment of Fudan Budapest University is part of this clearly outlined strategy. The philosophy of the transformation The question arises as to why the education system is being transformed. The so-called Bologna process from 1999 was also adopted in Hungary. On the one hand the new system contributed to a wider acceptance of diplomas in the Single Market, on the other hand the 3 reform did not take into account the specific needs of certain fields of study. At the same time, the Bologna system also favored quantity over quality. In certain cases, the needs of the labor market were not taken into account by the universities and under the pretext of university autonomy local and partial interests were protected by the universities. If the Hungarian public universities are transformed, it means that they will still perform a public function in the interest of the public, but they will not function as central budgetary institutions and the administrative powers of the university will go to the board of trustees appointed at the head of the foundation. The foundation is a hybrid form in which private sector actors can also have a say, but this form is by no means a disguised form of privatization, as some analysts believe. By involving private players, more funds can be made available to the respective universities, but more importantly this creates a direct link to the real economy, which can give universities more direct feedback on how they should adapt to the new challenges. According to the plans, with the exception of Budapest Corvinus University, the state would remain a major funder of universities, acting as a purchaser for the performance of public functions. The new rules and framework would give the university more room to maneuver and allow it to adapt more smoothly to the changes. The scale of the transformation becomes easy to understand when one considers that as of September 2021, around 70 percent of Hungarian students will study at universities managed by the new trust funds. With the exception of the University of Theater and Film Arts, the transition at Hungarian universities went smoothly. So far, several universities have already gone through the transition in 2019 and 2020, and more universities - according to plans – are to through a similar transformation from August 2021 on. 1. Budapest Corvinus University; 2. Széchenyi István University in Győr; 3. Neumann János University in Kecskemét; 4. University of Miskolc; 5. Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design; 6. University of Veterinary Medicine; 7. University of Sopron 8. University of Theatre and Film Arts; 9. Szent István University in Gödöllő, 10. University of Pannonia; 11. Szeged University; 12. University of Pécs 4 13. University of Debrecen, 14. Semmelweis University 15. University of Dunaújváros 16. Budapest Business School, University of Applied Sciences 17. Óbuda University. Summary The reasons for change and reform may be summed up. The ultimate motivations stem from the changing labor market, where Hungarian companies need more updated skills. This would be the basis on which other economic policies (innovation, technology, and science policies) can be built. The quality and quantity of the skilled workforce must be provided by the universities, whose performance is rather weak in international comparison, as we could see in the international rankings of higher education. The transformation of universities aims to bring universities closer to the needs of the real economy and to maintain the state as the main regulator and financier of the sector. The transformation is not without social and political debates, the main argument of the opponents is that the government wants to secure its financial base in case it loses the elections in 2022. The problem with this argument, however, is that rectors and chancellors could previously be appointed directly by the government and now in the new system, from 2022, the Ministry of Technology and Innovation would be able to delegate the founder's rights to the board of trustees. 5 .