Students will not be happy with this trend in Hungarian universities

The majority of Hungarian universities are not planning an autumn break this year for 2023/2024. This will save higher education institutions a great deal of money.

Will last year’s trend persist?

Eduline conducted a comprehensive survey of Hungarian higher education institutions. Last year, the autumn break dates had already been set in August in several universities. At Eötvös Loránd University, the autumn break was scheduled for 24-29 October, at Corvinus University of Budapest for 24-28 October and at the University of Pécs for 2-4 November.

However, almost all institutions have changed this due to rising energy costs and energy-saving measures. Some universities have entirely abolished the autumn break, while others have moved it to December to save on heating costs.

No autumn break this year

Last year’s panic is supposed to be over. Universities are less worried about overheads. Eduline interviewed several Hungarian higher education institutions, one of which said that they do not feel that introducing energy-saving measures would be justified, adding that the semester will continue at the usual pace, while teaching will be in attendance.

Compared to last year, conditions have not changed. The war between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing, and the Hungarian government has not introduced any cuts in the rationing of electricity. As a result, heating costs for institutions are still high this year.

Autumn break will be cancelled or significantly shortened in many institutions again this year. At Eötvös Loránd University, the University of Pécs and Károli Gáspár Reformed University, students will have a few days’ break between 30 October and 3 November. At the University of Miskolc, the already scheduled public holidays will be supplemented by rector’s breaks. However, at several institutions, students will only have a day off on 1 November, which is a national holiday anyway.

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