Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler said amendments to Hungary’s national core curriculum (NAT) have been finalised and will incorporate the most efficient international practices along with Hungarian values and traditions. The curriculum will be implemented from the 2020/2021 academic year in the first, fifth and ninth grades and proceed progressively to the others. Kásler said the curriculum aims to provide the same opportunities to all children, regardless of where they live and of their social status.
The amended NAT contains information on shaping a “harmonic family life”, Kásler noted. The aim is that Hungarian youth rise among the world’s best by 2030, as a result of a public education system incorporating European values and modern educational methods, Kásler said. Regarding specific areas of education, Kásler said that the humanities have been reworked to include new content and structure as well as modern tools to shape national identity. NAT also aims to employ more effective methods in the teaching of foreign languages, he said. Education will be informed by the modern digital culture and current trends in the labour market, he added.
Ministry commissioner Gabriella Hajnal, who was responsible for the development of NAT and also heads KLIK, the public school operating body, said that the new curriculum introduces caps on children’s weekly lessons. First to third graders will have a maximum of 24 lessons a week, which will go up to a maximum of 34 lessons by the 11-12th grade, she said. Regarding the curriculum’s content, Hajnal said there will be an option to choose an integrated “natural sciences” subject instead of the subjects biology, physics and chemistry. The contents of the subjects Hungarian language and grammar, music and history have been renewed, she said.