Socialist leader calls for education system to be put on new footing

Budapest, February 2 (MTI) – Addressing discontent on the part of Hungarian teachers who plan to hold a demonstration, the Socialist leader, József Tóbiás, said on Tuesday that it was not enough to tinker with the education system but it must be put on an entirely new footing.

Tóbiás said professionals in Hungary had been humiliated and managed unprofessionally and mindlessly. He called on the minister of human resources to quit because every area under his control, including health care and education, was in a state of crisis.

Tóbiás accused the central government body responsible for managing schools (Klik) of intimidating teachers who planned to protest.

Teachers are preparing to hold a nationwide demonstration on Feb. 13 with a number of demands for better conditions in the sector. The chairwoman of teacher trade union (PSZ), Piroska Galló, told a press conference on Monday that the strike committee had formulated 25 demands, including a drastic reduction in the curriculum and the number of compulsory classroom hours.