Press release by President of Hungary Katalin Novák

The law on the new career path for teachers has been adopted by the National Assembly. The most controversial points of what came to be known as the "status law" in the form in which it was originally submitted for debate and rightly criticised by many, are no longer included in the adopted legislation, or are included with substantiveamendments. As a result, this law is already different in content from the one that had sparked the protest. 

Therefore, having studied the text of the law on the new career path for teachers and weighing up the legislative intent behind it, I consider that the new law will ensure that the public education system remains viable, provides a clear framework and lays the foundation for a wage increase. 

My position is unchanged: the kind of adults today’s students grow up to be is the key to our future. The Hungary of the future needs young people with self-confidence, competitive knowledge and stable values. This requires dedicated, well-performing, respected teachers and quality education. In the future, it would be beneficial for Hungary to have a true social debate on this. There are several important tasks ahead of us: first and foremost, further steps are needed to substantially increase the salaries of teachers and we must make sure that teachers are respected. I therefore call on all actors in Hungary’s political life and the EU institutions to do everything in their power to ensure that the necessary resources are made available as soon as possible to give Hungarian teachers a meaningful pay rise.

Weighing up all of the above considerations, today I signed the law adopted by the National Assembly on the new career path for teachers, and ordered it to be proclaimed.