Contradictory regulations, missing programs - the Ombudsman on the right of children of foreign nationality to education

Children of foreign nationality residing in Hungary may participate in pre-school education and, after reaching school age mandatory under Hungarian law, primary school education under the same conditions as their Hungarian peers do, pointed out László Székely in his report. In his report on the investigation conducted by him ex officio, based on media reports and alerts, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights called attention to the fact that the provisions of the Public Education Act, also regulating the education of children of foreign nationality, are not in accordance with the provisions of the sectoral acts, and their use of terms is not consistent, either.

The Commissioner was notified on several occasions that the children of foreigners working in Hungary, in particular those of Romanian nationals, did not attend school. Their parents claim that they act under the rules of the education system of their homeland, according to which their children are home-schooled. However, experience shows that children of the families concerned do not attend mandatory schooling either in Hungary or their home country, which makes it rather difficult to enforce their right to education.

In his report the Commissioner pointed out that, by virtue of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, also in effect in our country, Hungary has to recognize the right of the child to education, with primary education being mandatory and free for everyone. Children of foreign nationality residing in Hungary may participate in pre-school education and, after reaching school age mandatory under Hungarian law, primary school education under the same conditions as their Hungarian peers do. The report also calls attention to the fact that the regulation is in many places ambiguous: statutory and regulatory rules related to public education and the legal status of foreigners (their rights to stay in Hungary) contain indirectly, sometimes even directly contradicting stipulations and use differently interpreted terms.

In the view of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, it gives cause for concern, from the aspect of the right to education of both children of foreign nationality residing in Hungary and Hungarian children staying abroad, that participation in mandatory schooling is only subject to reporting, parents do not have to prove actual participation to the relevant authorities of their home countries.

The Ombudsman's investigation also discovered that, according to prevailing Hungarian legal regulations, mandatory schooling and free education of children of foreign nationality are subject to the parents' residence permits being valid for more than 90 days or the submission of an application for recognition; therefore, neither mandatory, nor free schooling is comprehensively ensured. Ombudsman László Székely also finds it perverse and a hindrance to starting schooling that, when submitting an admission request to a school, students of foreign nationality have to make a statement as to who exercises parental supervision and who provides conditions to their schooling.

The comprehensive inquiry revealed that most schools are not familiar at all with the professional directives concerning pre-school and primary education of children of foreign nationality and the guidelines contained therein. In the absence of personal and material conditions, only a few schools do provide to students of foreign nationality, so to speak, voluntarily, an intercultural or other, similar program facilitating their studies, or assist their integration.

The Ombudsman stressed that children of foreign nationality and their families are entitled to the full scope of child welfare services. Children whose parents' legal status in Hungary is irregular, who stay in our country illegally or partially legally, are the most vulnerable among children of foreign nationality, a vulnerable group per se, residing in Hungary, hardly or not speaking Hungarian.

In order to tackle the uncovered problems, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has turned to the Minister of Human Capacities with a number of legislative proposals and recommendations, requesting the Director of the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Center to take the necessary measures as soon as possible.