New school year kicks off with new regulations

The new school year starts today in Hungary with the introduction of several new regulations, including one that mandates lighter schoolbags for younger students. Teachers, however, will have an extra burden, as they will be required to work two more hours per week - for free.

According to Népszabadság, a new regulation says that the weight of schoolbags carried by six to ten-year-old students can't be more than three kilos, and schedules have to be created by teachers with this in mind. A recent study found that Hungarian children carry up to five kilos to school every day. Over the past 20 years, the number of children with spine problems has doubled.

Teachers and parents told the paper that the weight of books is not the only reason schoolbags are too heavy. Children tend to come to school with large pencil cases, ring binders and toys, and as most schools have no lockers, they have to carry around supplies needed for physical education classes and extracurricular activities.

Meanwhile, this year teachers will be required to work two extra hours a week outside of the classroom for which they will receive no payment. Many teachers have worked extra hours until now, but they were paid. The new regulation means - according to calculations by a trade union - a Ft 100,000 (€360) pay cut per year. Both of Hungary's educational trade unions have turned to the Constitution Court about this regulation.

The schoolbook subsidy system has also changed. Only the "needy" - who number more than 700,000 - are entitled to free schoolbooks, which local governments have to provide from the Ft 10,000 (€36) per student they receive for this purpose.

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