Orbán’s assault on academic freedom SHALINI RANDERIA
Another indicator of
the malaise fallen over Hungarian education policy is the alarming decline in
student applications and enrolments between 2010 and 2014, which fell by 24%.
In 2016, the number of applications to state universities declined at en even
sharper rate, from 160,000 to 110,000. This dramatic reduction amounting to a
fall of 45% in student applications has been undertaken deliberately by the
government. The less privileged, who are denied access to the education system
in favour of middle and upper middle class students, are to fit themselves into
Orban’s hierarchical corporate system as ‘simple labourers’ in the service or
industrial sectors.
The legislation
targeting the Central European University is part of the systematic erosion of
the autonomy of Hungary’s universities. Instead of following the path paved by
the CEU towards the internationalization of knowledge, the Hungarian government
is committed to the nationalization and political control of science.
The very existence of
the private, internationally renowned Central European University (CEU) in
Budapest is under threat. Following attacks by the state controlled Hungarian
press, a newly drafted law was passed on Tuesday 4 April by the Parliament that
will extensively curtail the autonomy of the university, and indeed in effect
aims at its closure. The CEU, which embodies the liberal spirit of its founder
George Soros, is an attractive place to study for masters and doctoral students
in the humanities and social sciences from Hungary and throughout eastern and
central Europe, as it is for young scholars from all over the world. This makes
it a thorn in Viktor Orbán’s flesh. In an ‘illiberal state,’ as Orbán’s himself
describes the political system of his country, there can be no room for
cosmopolitan, free thought.
While the new
Legislation on the Regulation of Private Universities does not mention the CEU
by name, it is nevertheless clearly tailor-made to it. The Andrássy University
in Budapest, which has been supported by Austria and several German states, was
carefully excluded from the purview of the legislation. The law requires, among
other things, that a university maintain a campus in its country of origin,
which, it is well known, is not the case for CEU. The CEU must comply by these
conditions by January 2018 or cease functioning in Budapest. Orbán has succeeded
in enforcing his new media regulations by means of similar legislation, which
serve to obscure the authoritarian regime of control that is being established
in Hungary. Will the EU tolerate this attack that calls into question the very
freedom of thought and knowledge while rejecting the fundamental values of the
Union?
Although this new
amendment directly targets the CEU, the attack must be viewed in the context of
the systematic erosion of the autonomy of all universities in the country.
Since 2006, Hungary has spent less and less on education both in real terms and
as a percentage of the GDP. Only Mexico and Turkey spend less among OECD
countries. Large funding cuts to Hungarian state universities have created a
budget deficit that has made it increasingly difficult to maintain their
operations. The result of this fiscal policy has been the closure of many
departments, and those that remain are entirely financially dependent on the
benevolence of the state. State expenditure on higher education also declined
by 25% between 2010 and 2013. This led to the establishment of a financial
state of exception, which provided the occasion for the installation of
state-nominated ‘chancellors’ at each university, in order presumably to
consolidate the financial situation. Many of these chancellors are former
FIDESZ functionaries with no expertise in financial management, and yet who are
not only making financial and managerial decisions, but also determining
academic appointments.
