The refurbished Slovak school and kindergarten were inaugurated in Békéscsaba, South Hungary, on Monday by Minister of State for Churches, Minorities and Civil Affairs Miklós Soltész.
In his address, he said Hungarians and Slovaks have a common history, religion, folk music, dances and many other cultural elements. At the ceremony, the Minister of State quoted the words of St. Stephen, the first Hungarian king who said “the country with a single language and customs is weak and fallible”. He said there were many who had forgotten this wisdom and hurt people of other nationalities both in Hungary and elsewhere.
The total cost of the refurbishment was HUF 400 million (EUR 1.28 million), half of which came from the Hungarian budget. The institution is home to 323 pupils.
Juraj Drexler, Slovak Minister of State for Education said at the ceremony that although Slovakia is a small country, it highly appreciates all efforts from other states to promote its language, culture and customs.
János Fuzik, President of the Self-Government of Slovaks in Hungary said that as of this school year, all Slovak language schools in Hungary have come under state administration, adding that his organization also plans to refurbish the Slovak school in Sátoraljaújhely, northern Hungary, with the help of the Slovak and Hungarian state.
(Ministry of Human Capacities)
