A Hungarian future is only a viable option through the expansion of the opportunities of young Hungarians, and if they have the conditions to earn a decent living, Péter Szilágyi pointed out on Tuesday in Komárno (Révkomárom) in Slovakia at the first stage of the inauguration of the developments implemented as part of the programme “2015 Year of Vocational Training for Hungarians Beyond the Borders”.

In his speech, Mr Szilágyi reiterated: the Hungarian Government embarked on the job which is referred to as a change of paradigm in Hungary’s national policy a year and a half ago. The Deputy State Secretary for National Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted: one of the most important steps on this new course is to raise awareness that in the interest of promoting the survival of Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin, it is no longer sufficient to merely sponsor and support education and culture which serve as a means to reinforce Hungarian identity. “A Hungarian future is only a viable option through the expansion of the opportunities of young Hungarians, and if they have the conditions to earn a decent living”, he said, and added: the programme “2015 Year of Vocational Training for Hungarians Beyond the Borders”, too, served and continues to serve this goal as it will also continue this year from a new allocation.

Thanks to the programme launched last year with an allocation of HUF 500 million, educational institutions providing vocational training in Hungarian regions beyond the borders received development grants worth HUF 345 million in 2015. Developments were implemented in 12 educational institutions in Slovakia from this allocation, with expenditures of HUF 70.5 million in total. The series of inauguration ceremonies began at the Révkomárom Industrial Secondary School on Tuesday, and continued on the same day in Gúta (Kollárovo) at the local Hungarian Language Private Secondary School where developments worth HUF 10 million have been implemented.

At the inauguration ceremony held in Révkomárom, János Vetter, principal of the local Industrial Secondary School said: within the framework of the programme, their educational institution, which was established in 1951 and provides for the education of some six hundred students at present, was able to develop its electrotechnology and engineering workshop from an allocation of HUF 15 million, for which he thanked the Hungarian State as a sizeable contribution. He pointed out: the assistance provided in the form of this contribution is all the more important because schools in the Hungarian regions of Slovakia are rather under-funded. “The budget of our school as at any time is about mere survival, with varying degrees of success”, Mr Vetter remarked.

The State Secretariat of the Prime Minister’s Office for National Policy launched its series of targeted pedagogical programmes in 2012, with the year of Hungarian kindergarten pupils beyond the borders. This was later followed by the years of elementary school students in the lower and upper grades, and the year of vocational training last year. The programme of the year of young Hungarian entrepreneurs beyond the borders started this March. The purpose of the programmes is to promote the continued residence and advancement of Hungarians living in Hungarian regions beyond the borders in their native land.

(MTI)