Orban pledges free higher education for students who make the grade

Budapest, December 15 (MTI) - Students who meet the entry criteria for Hungary s higher education should receive university or college courses free of charge, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday, after consulting students earlier in the day.

In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Orban said that the current system of putting a cap on state-financed places in higher education should be eliminated because students feel that those numbers prevent them from further studies.

"We should make it clear that anyone who wants to study in Hungary and who meets the relevant criteria for higher education -- which is currently 240 points (calculated based on secondary school results) -- and they are committed to studying and then working in Hungary, should receive university or college courses free of charge and without becoming indebted," the prime minister said.

He added that the government was expecting a bill to that effect from human resources minister Zoltan Balog next Wednesday. Orban said that comprehensive new rules were needed to replace the current system, which he said was so complicated that "it only creates uncertainty and unpredictability among students".