The Ombudsman on Problems Related to State Aid Given to Community College Movements

According to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the requirement of legal certainty is jeopardized by the unpredictability of the disbursement of already approved operational subsidies. The ombudsman may not inquire into the amounts and their changes, as they are policy and economic policy issues. However, he calls the attention of the government to the fact that unpredictability and the prolonged non-delivery of state aid may ultimately endanger the provision of a constitutionally required public service. 

The community college movement is not part of the education system. Its objective is to provide the opportunity of life-long learning and, primarily, to improve the chances of those living in less-favoured regions through education and training. The Act on Culture stipulates only that financial support for the community college movement shall be allocated from the annual budget of the Ministry responsible for culture. A complaint was sent to László Székely, claiming that state financing of its operation had been continuously decreasing since 2004 and it had also occurred that the approved state aid had not been received by the institutions. According to the complainant, no answer was given as to why the state aid to community college-type education, facilitating the involvement in public education of people often with low qualification, living in the small settlements of less-favoured regions, had been delayed or suspended.

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights stressed that the national community college movements do not merely provide a public service related to the right to culture, but, besides the protection of civil autonomy and the promotion of volunteering, they also embody the principle of equal cultural opportunities. At the same time, the Commissioner has also clarified in his report that he could not inquire into details strictly related to budget financing, since they are, by themselves, not constitutional problems but basically economic policy and policy decisions that fall under the competence of the Ministry responsible for culture.  

Taking into consideration the current budget capacity and policy priorities, the Parliament may consider as to what amounts should be allocated for subsidizing the national community college movements. At the same time, the ombudsman's report calls the attention to the fact that the enforcement of legal certainty requires that the disbursement of operational subsidies already approved and declared enforceable, should be predictable, even if there is no provision for the deadline and schedule of the transfer of the subsidy. According to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the government should ensure that the prolonged and significant delays in the subsidies' disbursement should not endanger the existence and operation of certain subsidised institutions.

Replying to the ombudsman inquiry, the state secretary responsible for culture pointed out that the Ministry had concluded the grant agreements with three beneficiary national community colleges in December 2012, almost one year after the adoption of the FY 2012 budget, and the subsidies for 2012 were disbursed only in February 2013. In the Commissioner's view, this significant delay has led to an impropriety as regards the requirement of legal certainty.

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, László Székely, has asked the Minister to review, in cooperation with the community colleges concerned, which tasks should be subsidized by the state in the future, and what kind of statutory or other guarantees could be given to establish and improve legal certainty and predictability.