Everyone agrees that in today’s world language skills are essential for competitive knowledge, the Government Spokesperson highlighted on the Thursday evening programme of the public service news channel M1.

István Hollik was asked, among others, about the government decision in which the government is revoking its earlier decision tying the commencement of studies in higher education to an intermediate language certificate.

He recalled that in 2014 the government decided to encourage students to obtain language certificates already before the commencement of their university studies. There was a preparatory period of five years for that. However, professional organisations active in the field take the view that at this point in time many students would be left out of higher education solely due to this decision. Therefore, the government has decided to extend the deadline, Mr Hollik said.

Additionally, the work regarding the national curriculum – of which language teaching also forms a part – is under way, he added.

The government decided to raise the funding of the health insurance fund by more than HUF 34 billion. According to the Government Spokesperson’s information, this will cover the funding of certain health care services and new medicines.

Mr Hollik was also asked regarding the fact that Momentum President András Fekete-Győr does not support the Hungarian candidate in the upcoming presidential elections in Romania, but the liberal-party Romanian candidate.

Looking back on the past 30 years, the Government Spokesperson concluded that what András Fekete-Győr had done was unprecedented. So far, he highlighted, never had a single Hungarian party, not even Ferenc Gyurcsány ever publicly supported a Romanian candidate in an election in which there was also a Hungarian candidate. “This is shocking,” Mr Hollik said.

(MTI)