The Hungarian government has approved a sweeping reform of the country’s education administration, Prime Minister P茅ter Magyar announced on Facebook.
Under the changes, the Klebelsberg Centre will lose its role as the intermediary body overseeing Hungary’s public school districts and will instead become a research and professional support institution for education.
According to the prime minister, all district school authority (tanker眉let) directors will be selected through open public competitions in the future, with mayors also taking part in the selection process. The chosen directors will receive five-year mandates.
Magyar said the government’s goal is to build a more competitive and humane education system, adding that Wednesday’s cabinet decision would finally give education the attention and recognition it deserves.
He noted that a two-month review conducted by the Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs revealed problems far more serious than previously believed.
“The audit uncovered shocking practices. In several cases, school districts had to use funds originally allocated for salaries and employee benefits just to cover the everyday operating costs of schools,” the prime minister said.
According to Magyar, the Tisza government will fundamentally reshape the system. On August 20, every district director position will be advertised through an open competition. Unlike the previous system, local mayors will be involved in the decision-making process.
“We expect school districts to be led by people who earn the public’s trust through the strongest professional programmes, genuine leadership vision, and proven results. We are proud of the legacy of Kuno Klebelsberg, so the institution bearing his name will remain, but its role will change completely,” he said.
From January 1, 2027, responsibility for managing public education will be transferred directly to the Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs, ending the Klebelsberg Centre’s intermediary management role. The centre will instead function as a research, development, and professional support institution.
Magyar argued that the reform is about much more than institutional restructuring.
“It means ensuring that chemistry is taught by a chemistry teacher, that schools have access to special education professionals when needed, that buying a few laptops or projectors no longer takes months, that parents no longer have to renovate school toilets, and that teachers can teach without fear, according to their professional convictions,” he said.
The prime minister said the reform would launch a complete renewal of Hungarian education by bringing decision-making closer to schools, giving school leaders clear responsibilities and genuine autonomy, while allowing teachers to spend more time focusing on educating, supporting, and developing children’s talents.
He also pointed to severe staffing shortages, saying thousands of teaching positions remain vacant and that the situation would be even worse if thousands of retired teachers were not still working in schools.
Magyar added that the financial situation had deteriorated to the point where the government had to provide more than HUF 27 billion (around EUR 68 million) in additional funding to school districts in 2025 simply to cover utility bills and operating costs.
He criticized the previous management system, saying district authorities could not independently approve purchases worth even around HUF 1 million, while multi-billion-forint budget reallocations were made with little transparency. In one case involving a HUF 3 billion transfer, officials could not explain the criteria used to distribute the funds.
The prime minister also argued that the previous system allowed teachers to be dismissed simply for speaking out or defending their rights, with those decisions made by district directors who had been appointed indefinitely without an open public competition.
