Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister’s office, has revealed that in next year’s budget, the government will spend 645 billion HUF (1.95 billion EUR) more on education than in 2010.
Gulyás said the government was carrying out the biggest school development program of the past thirty years, with 110 billion HUF of European Union funding combined with 46 billion HUF of state support.
According to MTI, 158 projects are being carried out from domestic sources. The projects include the renovation of gyms and classrooms and the construction of new schools. Further, this year all pupils from the first to the ninth grade attending both state and church schools will receive free textbooks.
Gulyás noted that 14 percent of schools are run by the church, twice as high as nine years ago. He said church schools cater to all segments of society, from manual laborers and the needy to the well-to-do, as well as believers and those seeking faith.
Gulyás said today’s Hungarian government recognized and respected the role of churches in society and considered it essential. Churches offer an education “based on Christian values and knowledge, as well as the seeking and strengthening of faith.”
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