Socialists call for schooling that fosters creative thinking

Budapest (MTI) – The central body overseeing public education (Klik) should be scrapped and a new system which engenders creative thinking formed instead, the deputy head of parliament’s cultural committee said on Sunday.

The new school system should be stress-free, democratic and improve the competencies needed for the future, Agnes Kunhalmi, of the opposition Socialists, told a press conference. Such a plan, however, cannot be implemented while Viktor Orban is the prime minister, she added.

All primary school-leavers should be able to read, write, count, express themselves in writing, interpret texts and possess logic capabilities, and all secondary school graduates should have programming skills and fluent English, she said. The ability to study effectively, differentiated thinking, critical faculties and the culture of debate should be taught, she added.

Education has become a matter of domestic politics, with “teachers rebelling” and employees from many other sectors joining their ranks, she said, adding that the government is belittling the events, using threats or “pseudo consultations” to divide the dissatisfied.

The ruling Fidesz said the Socialists are not truly concerned about children; they only want to fire up the people. While they were in government, hundreds of schools were closed, thousands of teachers were fired, and their salaries were cut back, Fidesz said in a statement. Party activists of the Socialists, the opposition DK, Egyutt, PM and LMP are behind the teachers’ protests throughout Hungary, it added.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters