Hungarian schools to be protected by school guards with tear gas, handcuffs, and nightstick

Even though professional bodies protested, the Parliament accepted a bill that creates a new body in the Hungarian education system: the school guards. They will do their service in the most problematic schools by having tear gas, handcuffs, and even nightsticks to keep the order.

According to Index, school guards have already appeared in hundreds of schools in Hungary. Pedagogical knowledge is not a prerequisite for them, but they have to take part in a quick training before starting work. Meanwhile, legal experts say that violence cannot be the answer to violence.

Hungarian media previously reported that 2/3rd of the school guard applicants failed to pass the entrance exam, so, currently,

there are 423 school guards in Hungary,

but authorities are committed to raising their numbers soon.

One of them, Melinda Pogács, told Index that she previously worked as a security guard. She added that she likes children and is a mother of three. She said that she is determined enough to be a good school guard, and she helps everybody in case they need it. Mrs Pogács stated that physical violence has not happened yet, but she already solved problems like students speaking ill about one another. She said that she would never like to use the equipment we mentioned above.

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9th graders were surprised when they saw him on September 1 in the school, dr József Merle said. He added, however, that older students were happy to welcome him. The 51-year-old man has two degrees but spent his life being a detective and policeman, and he now chose to continue his career as a school guard after being a pensioner for 10 years.