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Hungarian Parliament adopts new bill aimed at foreign universities

Xinhua, April 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Hungarian Parliament adopted Tuesday a debated amendment of the act on higher education that could end in the closing of the Central European University (CEU), founded by Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros.

Members of parliament, overwhelmingly controlled by the ruling Fidesz and KDNP parties, voted 123 in favor and 38 against the new legislature, which puts difficult, if not impossible, conditions on foreign higher education institutions working in Hungary.

The new law, if signed by Hungarian President Janos Ader, will require an international treaty with the government of the home country of a university operating in Hungary and for the school to have accredited courses in its home country.

The institutions will have six months to comply with the new regulations after it enters into effect.

The law does not affect students who have already started their studies, meaning that if CEU cannot comply with the new legal conditions, it could not accept new students from 2018, and could cease its operations in 2021.

The CEU said Tuesday it would contest the constitutionality of the bill. "The new law puts at risk the academic freedom not only of CEU but of other Hungarian research and academic institutions," the university said in a statement.

The Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources, responsible for education, said that the CEU was "misleading the public opinion."

It said the amendment of the act on Hungarian education did not affect the work of the Hungarian part of the Central European University, which could continue to work as a Hungarian institution, as soon as the leadership of the two countries signed an agreement of mutual support.

CEU was founded in 1991, based first in Prague and later in Budapest. It delivers both U.S. and Hungarian diplomas. It currently has approximately 1,400 students and 370 faculty members. Endit