Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said the Hungarian government is introducing a radical, multi-fold increase in education support for ethnic Hungarians beyond the borders.
Deputy PM Semjén told a meeting of the Permanent Hungarian Conference (MÁÉRT) in Budapest that ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia will get increased support immediately, and in other areas, it will be introduced from the next academic year. The current amount of support paid is 22,400 forints (EUR 55) per child and per academic year. Support to Transcarpathia will be generally increased “because they are in the most difficult situation”, Deputy PM Semjén said. All participants at MÁÉRT signed a closing statement but three opposition parties, the Democratic Coalition, Párbeszéd and Momentum, stayed away from the event. “Those that stayed away did not belittle the government and MÁÉRT but ethnic Hungarians beyond the borders,” he added.