In total, 84,284 secondary school students could start their final examinations on Monday; with the exception of a few subjects, only written examinations will be held, the Minister of State for Public Education said at the online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic on Wednesday.

Zoltán Maruzsa highlighted that originally 113,387 students had applied to take final examinations in May, including students who were going to take early final examinations. As a result, 26,638 students were taken off the list as a matter of course.

Ninety-seven per cent of students want to take their final examinations; only three per cent, 2,455 students in their final year opted for postponing their examinations within the available five-day time limit, he said.

Regarding the precautionary measures that have been adopted, Mr Maruzsa said during the hours before the examinations, public transport vehicles will run more frequently, there will be police supervision in the vicinity of examination venues, all students will be given face masks, while the attending teachers will also be supplied with gloves.

The Minister of State stressed that those who were to change their minds immediately before the examinations would not have to face sanctions of any kind. All they have to do is not present themselves at the examinations.

At the press conference, Mr Maruzsa indicated that in the interest of minimising face-to-face interactions between those going to work and students taking their final examinations, during the first week examinations will start at nine in the morning. There will be no police presence in school buildings; however, police will control traffic and maintain order in the vicinity of institutions and in public areas.

To the debit of the available state reserves, more than 422,000 face masks will be distributed to schools for students, while another 147,000 face masks and a matching number of pairs of gloves will be made available to supervisor teachers and teachers correcting the tests of higher-level examinations. The representatives of institutions will be able to take delivery of these protective supplies at government offices in their districts from Thursday.

All schools conducting final examinations will also receive supplies of hand sanitisers. Buildings will be thoroughly cleaned before the start of the examinations, the available hygienic supplies and the cleanliness of toilets will be checked, and there will be ongoing cleaning in schools also during the final examinations, the Minister of State listed, summarising the precautionary measures that have been put into place. He said when preparing the schedule of examination supervisor teachers, schools will take into consideration the state of health of elderly teachers and teachers suffering from chronic diseases. In each classroom, there will be maximum ten students, with minimum a metre and a half between them, he added.

During the examinations, rooms will be regularly aired, multiple entrances will have to be made available to students, and students will be required to wear clothing suited to the occasion. There will be no centrally ordered body temperature testing, while exam papers will be disinfected in such a way that they will be left to rest for 24 hours before further processing, he highlighted.

Mr Maruzsa stressed that Hungarian police officers at the border will let in students coming from beyond the border, and they will not be required to retire to compulsory home quarantine for 14 days. In neighbouring countries, the development of the related regulations is currently under way. Students taking final examinations will find all the necessary information on the website of the Education Office at the weekend, at the latest.

The Minister of State for Public Education said examinations are being organised in 1,144 secondary schools and in district government offices. More than 941,000 test sheets totalling 12 million pages have been prepared for the written examinations. The sheets wrapped in sealed security bags and packaged into boxes will be transported to 189 district offices by twenty-six lorries over a period of six days. Representatives of the institutions organising examinations will collect them from the district offices, he said.

(Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI)