Thanks to the program, it was possible to stabilize the number of children and avoid the end of Hungarian education".

This year, nearly three thousand children will participate in the afternoon education program in scattered schools in Transylvania, which began on Monday in 64 educational institutions in 13 counties and Bucharest, the press office of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (RMDSZ) told MTI on Tuesday.

This year, 2,904 elementary students participate in the afternoon education program run by the School Foundation and funded by the Hungarian government, and the afternoon sessions take place with the participation of 190 teachers.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, 66 percent of the more than 2,500 families requiring afternoon education are of Hungarian nationality, 18 percent are of mixed nationality, 14 percent are Romanian, and two percent are of other nationalities, other than Romanian and Hungarian, the announcement states.

"We have seen in several places that in the last period, thanks to the program, it was possible to stabilize the number of children and avoid the end of Hungarian education

Its goal is to make mother-tongue education more attractive to scattered parents who would otherwise enroll their children in Romanian educational institutions. Another goal is to preserve the Hungarian identity and strengthen the scattered Hungarian schools.

The afternoon educational program began on Monday in a total of 64 schools in Arad, Beszterce-Naszód, Bihar, Brasó, Fehér, Hargita, Hunyad, Cluj, Maros, Máramaros, Szeben, Szilágy and Temes counties, as well as Bucharest.

Levente Zoltán Nagy, the president of the School Foundation that organizes the program, stated that the greatest success of the program is shown by the continuously growing interest and the increased number of students in the individual settlements over the past years.

"We have seen in several places that in the last period, thanks to the program, it was possible to stabilize the number of children and avoid the end of Hungarian education”

- the statement quoted the president of the School Foundation.

According to the official, a total of 14,030 students participated in the sessions during the six years of the afternoon education program, which has been operating since 2019.

The operators of the program also contribute to the costs of the children's daily hot lunch, thereby providing indirect financial assistance to the families.

This school year, the School Foundation covers the lunch costs of 2,395 children, while 509 young students receive hot meals as part of the Healthy Lunch program funded by the Romanian government.

MTI

Cover image: Illustration / Tamás Gönczy / RMDSZ Facebook