HUNGARY – OH

Educational Authority – OH
Szalay street 10-14
H –  1055 Budapest
Postal address: 1363 Budapest, Pf 19
www.oktatas.hu

CIDREE representative: 
Ms Bernadett Puszter
puszter.bernadett(at)oh.gov.hu
Phone +36 30 166 0919

CIDREE National Coordinator: 
Mr Gábor Tomasz
tomasz.gabor(at)oh.gov.hu
Mobile +36 30 235 7744

Institution
The aim and main responsibility of the Educational Authority is to collect and manage reliable information about pedagogical-educational work in Hungary in a professional and legitimate manner and to support the processes and participants of this work. It performs tasks related to the management of public and higher education systems, contributes to the development of public curricula and textbooks, and also supports career guidance by means of several services – especially in the case of students before entering higher education. The Educational Authority is also responsible for maintaining a register about the acquired language exams and for the recognition of exams, qualifications and degrees obtained abroad. 

Key functions

Public Education

Secondary school entrance exams

The primary goal of the written intermediate-level entrance exam, prepared and organised by the Educational Authority, is to assess the basic competences necessary for pursuing studies successfully in secondary education. Students can enrol in a secondary school based on the results obtained at the written exam, and secondary schools set their own admission rules of accepting applicants. The central IT system of the Educational Authority determines which institutions a student may be admitted to – based on the order of preferences both of the students and the institutions.

Secondary school school-leaving exams

Secondary school school-leaving exams, concluding studies on a secondary-level, may be taken twice a year. It is possible to take the exam either on intermediate or on advanced level from the majority of the subjects. The Educational Authority prepares the worksheets of the exams, sends them to the exam venues and publishes the guidelines regarding the assessment and evaluation. Students have to take a successful school-leaving exam in four compulsory subjects (Hungarian Language and Literature, Mathematics, History, one foreign language) and one elective subject. The secondary school school-leaving exam plays a crucial role in higher education enrolment: the result achieved at the exam is the basis of decision-making .

Organising the National Secondary-Level Subject Competition and other academic competitions

The Authority organises the National Secondary-Level Subject Competition, a contest with a long tradition. Its aim is to tap gifted students and encourage nurturingtheir talent. The Authority also organises academic contests in various fields.

Organising national and international level assessments

The National Assessment of Basic Competences is an annual assessment procedure including every student in grades 6, 8 and 10. Its aim is to provide a detailed picture about the efficiency of schools based on objective data. Besides, an additional goal is the comparability of the results of various schools throughout the country. Students complete test sheets containing tasks related to Mathematics and reading literacy. On a voluntary basis, they also answer questions regarding their family background, with the involvement of their parents. The Educational Authority is responsible for the development of test materials, the organisation of the assessment procedure and the processing of results.

Likewise, the Educational Authority participates in three international student performance assessments (TIMSS, PIRLS, PISA) and in a teacher survey (TALIS).

Pedagogical professional support services

Pedagogical professional support services help the work of pedagogical-educational institutions, teachers, pedagogical assistance services institutions and their maintainers. Besides, these services support activities related to the protection of students’ rights. Throughout the country, these activities are provided by the so called POKs, the local pedagogical centres, which are the local organisational units of the Educational Authority.

In-service teacher trainings, teacher classifications

The Educational Authority is responsible for the administrative authorisation of teacher training courses. Besides, it is responsible for all tasks related to the classification procedure of teachers and the professional support regarding this process.

Data on public education

The Authority maintains and operates several substantial public education database systems, like the Public Education Information System: (PEIS),  the database related to secondary-level enrolment or the database related to the upper – secondary school school-leaving exam. The analysis of these data as well as the support of decision-making processes of educational policies are also among the responsibilities of the Educational Authority.

Higher Education

Entrance exam to higher education

Enrolment to short-cycle degree programs, Bachelor degree programmes, long national degree programmes and Master’s programmes is possible through a central application procedure. The informational guide concerning higher education is available at the website felvi.hu, operated by the Educational Authority. It is also the access point of the E-application site.

Management and analysis of data related to higher education

The Higher Education Information System, maintained by the Educational Authority, is an electronic registration system which manages personal and institutional data related to higher education in a unified IT system.

Analyses based on the Graduate Tracking System support students applying for higher education institutions as well as decision-makers dealing with educational policies. These analyses examine employability, income situation and qualification status of recent graduates. The Authority has joined several international projects and networks related to higher education research, such as the EUROSTUDENT program.

Hungarian State Grant

The studies of students admitted to a program of the Hungarian State Grant system are financed by the Hungarian state. By enrolling to a given program, supported students accept the predetermined circumstances: they state that they will acquire their degree in the given time frame, and, within 20 years after obtaining the degree, they will establish working relations in Hungary which would last at least as many semesters as the received scholarship. The Hungarian State Grant Register keeps record of the fulfilment of these commitments.

Accreditation Centre for Foreign Language Examination

The supervision of state-accredited foreign language examination centres and the pertaining systems is performed by the Accreditation Centre for Foreign Language Examination, operating within the Educational Authority. Besides, it is the responsibility of this centre to recognise all language exam certificates acquired abroad after 1st January 2000.

Hungarian Equivalence and Information Centre

The Hungarian Equivalence and Information Centre of the Educational Authority is responsible for the Hungarian recognition of qualifications and vocational qualifications attested by a foreign diploma. Besides, upon request, it is responsible for issuing official certificates of Hungarian degrees and diplomas to be recognised abroad.

Student Card

The Educational Authority operates the IT interface for requesting the student card.

The student card is free of charge; students of Hungarian public institutions as well as students studying in higher education institutions can apply for it. By using the student card, both the allowances provided by the Hungarian state (such as discounts regarding travel or cultural programs) and the allowances provided by the EYCA (European Youth Card Association) are available.

International relations

The Educational Authority coordinates educational data collection towards international organisations, such as OECD, Eurostat or UNESCO. The National Coordination Point of the European Qualifications Framework also operates within the Authority. Besides, the Educational Authority represents Hungary in the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement). The Authority also takes part in several international educational projects.