Modellváltás (Hungary)
| Modelváltás 🇭🇺 | ||
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| Location: Hungary | ||
| Definition: Lit. restructuring, is the practice of privatising universities in Hungary while also limiting their independence from the government | ||
| Keywords: Hungary – Europe – EU – Education – Property – Academia – Influence | ||
| Clusters: Control | ||
| Author: Barna Szalai | ||
| Affiliation: Alumnus, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, UK | ||
By Barna Szalai, Alumnus, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, UK
| The term modellváltás can be translated to English as restructuring. Initially, the term was used by FIDESZ, the governing party of Hungary (2010-present) to refer to the privatisation of the university sector. Since then, the term has been increasingly used to capture the informal dimension of the restructuring, consisting in the redesign of the power dynamics of university management. Under this framework, while formal hierarchical positions are upheld, decision-making powers are transferred to the newly created board of trustees. Members of the board appointed by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology have in fact no academic background but close ties to FIDESZ. |
In 2018, the then undersecretary of State for Education, László Palkovics announced the reform of the higher education funding system. Palkovics stated two main, apparently non-political objectives behind modellváltás: to improve the financial situation and the autonomy of universities. Reformers argue that the privatisation of the sector provides a more liberal financial environment to these institutions, because they will no longer be dependent on the limited state budget. Opposers of the practice, on the other hand, claim that because boards of trustees are appointed by the government without the consent of scholars, modellváltás decreases their autonomy and independence.
Modellváltás typically begins with a short notice to the university to expect the change. The bill is then quickly pushed through the Parliament, and the ownership is transferred to the newly created foundation led by the board of trustees. Foundations for each university are established by the government, and while the executive still provides long-term financial support for the institutions, universities are no longer part of public spending. Universities’ decision-making power is also transferred to the government appointed board of trustees (Pete and Szabó 2021). Preceding modelváltás, the principal decision making bodies of public Hungarian universities were its senate and consistory (Kovats and Ronay 2021: 20). While the consistory, similarly to the board of trusties, was also appointed by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, it only had veto power in financial issues and research and development strategies. The elected autonomous senate had more influence on the institution. Nowadays, while the senate still exists and offers recommendations, it is the board of trustees that makes the decision.
Only a third of the appointed members of all the boards of trustees in the country are scholars, whereas the majority are politicians and businesspeople with ties to the ruling party (Pete and Szabó 2021). For instance, since 2014 Katalin Szili, former member of the Hungarian Socialist Party and member of Pécs University’s board of trustees, openly supports and closely cooperates with FIDESZ (Átlátszó 2015). Another example is Zsolt Hernády, chairman of Corvinus University’s board of trustees and head of the Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc. (MOL), who not only has close business partnership with the current government, but reportedly has personal relationships with Viktor Orbán (Brückner 2021). Lastly, many of the scholars appointed to the board were reported to have close ties with the government, such as Dr Béla Merkely, chairman of Semmelweis University’s board of trustees and medical spokesperson of the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. From all the 21 universities that went through modellváltás only three boards are led by a chairperson with no known ties with FIDESZ (István 2021). Meaning that most universities were brought under the control of the leading party.
Since the fall of communism in 1989, the severely underfunded Hungarian university sector was in need of reforms, as the quality of education has been stagnant for decades (Universitas 21 2020; Mihályi 2019: 57–69). While in the 1990s the privatisation of universities was on the political agenda, there was no real progress (Derényi 2020: 65–68). This finally changed in 2018, when László Palkovics, handed a plan of modellváltás to the three pilot universities, with the following suggestions (Csurgó 2021):
- - Ownership of the universities will be transferred from the state to a newly created foundation.
- - Universities will be given enough time to prepare for the changes.
- - Long-term financial agreements with the government will be made.
- - The universities will decide on their relationship with the newly appointed board of trustees.
- - Universities will have their say in the appointment of the board members.
While some academics opposed the suggestions, there was no strong opposition to the implementation of the plan as it promised no interference with the autonomy of the target institutions (Csurgó 2021). Yet, in April of 2019, the Parliament passed a bill that made major changes to the original plan (Parliament 2019). To begin with, a non-pilot institution, Corvinus University, was the first to undergo the process of modellváltás. Secondly, the board was given considerably more power than previously suggested. Thirdly, appointed members of the board could not be removed. Lastly, universities had little control over the appointment of the board of trustees designed by the government. The decision was enforced despite resistance of the academic and student community to the policy.
In 2020, the government passed a bill on the modellváltás of the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE) (Parliament 2020). The ownership was handed to the newly created foundation and the director of the National Theatre Attila Vidnyánszky, was appointed as the president’s board. None of the candidates proposed by the university got a seat on the board (Kovács-Angel 2020). Following Vidnyánszky’s refusal to negotiate the board composition, the university staff and the students staged a protest preventing access to the building in an attempt to physically stop the new board from entering their office (Novak 2020). Protestors all around Hungary joined the movement and demanded the suspension of modellváltás (Reuters 2020). Thousands marched on the streets of Budapest, but Vidnyánszky stood firmly behind his decision. In November 2020, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic resolved the deadlock between the new board, the university management, and the students. Health restrictions prevented any form of gathering, and demonstrations had to be stopped (Szalai 2020).
Even though the movement was not successful in preventing the introduction of modellváltás, it affected the implementation of the practice. In April of 2021, the parliament passed a new bill that transferred eleven more universities to newly established foundations (Parliament 2021). However, up to two members suggested by the universities were appointed to each board to avoid further public opposition. As of April 2022, out of the thirty-eight universities in Hungary only five are publicly owned (MTI 2022). Of the five remaining universities two, Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), are among the largest and most prestigious universities in Hungary. BME is already on the government’s shortlist, and while the university’s rector officially opposes modelváltás, his position is unlikely to influence the government’s decision (Zubor 2022).
References
Act LXXII. of 2020 on the Theatre and Film Arts Foundation, the Transfer of Assets to the Theatre and Film Arts Foundation, and to University of Theatre and Film Arts. 2020. (Parliament), pp. 1–6
Act VIII. of 2021 on the Amendment of Higher Education Regulations and Other Related Acts. 2021. (Parliament), pp. 1–120
Act XXX. of 2019 on the Maecenas Universitatis Corvini Foundation, the Transfer of Assets to the Maecenas Universitatis Corvini Foundation, and to Corvinus University. 2019
Átlátszó. 2015. ‘Szili Katalin Havi 1 Millióért Dolgozza Ki Az Autonómiakonceppciókat’ https://vastagbor.atlatszo.hu/2015/04/03/szili-katalin-havi-1-millioert-dolgozza-ki-az-autonomiakoncepciokat/
Brückner, Gergely. 2021. ‘Hernádi Zsolt: A Mol Nem Politizál, Csak Az Állammal Együtt Építkezik’, Telex, 12 May, https://telex.hu/gazdasag/2021/05/06/hernadi-zsolt-a-mol-nem-politizal-csak-az-allammal-egyutt-epitkezik
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Kovács-Angel, Marianna. 2020. ‘Palkovics Az SZFE Ügyéről: A Kuratórium Összetétele Vidnyánszky Attila Vezetésével Megfelel a Célnak’, 24.Hu, 12 May, https://24.hu/kultura/2020/09/11/szfe-palkovics-vidnyanszki/
Kovats, Gergely, and Zoltan Ronay. 2021. 'Academic Freedom in Hungary, OSUN Global Observatory on Academic Freedom
Mihályi, Peter. 2019. ‘Four Obstacles to Improving the Quality of University Education: The Case of Hungary’, Management and Administration of Higher Education Institutions at Times of Change: 57–69
MTI. 2022. ‘A Cél, Hogy a Magyar Fiatalok a Jövő Nyertesei Legyenek’, Magyarország Kormánya, 8 April, https://kormany.hu/hirek/a-cel-hogy-a-magyar-fiatalok-a-jovo-nyertesei-legyenek
Novak, Benjamin. 2020. ‘Student Blockade Protests Viktor Orban’s Reach at Top Arts University’, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/06/world/europe/hungary-students-blockade-orban.html
Pete, Luca, and Krisztián Szabó. 2021. ‘Hogyan Váltunk Öt Állami Egyetem Országává?’, Átlátszó, 12 May, https://atlatszo.hu/adat/2021/09/10/hogyan-valtunk-ot-allami-egyetem-orszagava/
Reuters. 2020. ‘Thousands of Students March with Torches in Hungary for Academic Freedom’, 12 May, https://www.reuters.com/article/hungary-protests-students-idINKBN2782DC
Szalai, Bálint. 2020. ‘Véget Vet a Járvány Az SZFE Blokádjának’, Szabad Európa, 12 May, https://www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/veget-vet-a-jarvany-az-szfe-blokadjanak/30940353.html
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Zubor, Zalán. 2022. ‘A Rektor Ellenzi Ugyan, de a Választások Után a BME Is Alapítványi Tulajdonba Kerülhet’, Áltátszó, 12 May, https://atlatszo.hu/kozpenz/2022/01/19/a-rektor-ellenzi-ugyan-de-a-valasztasok-utan-a-bme-is-alapitvanyi-tulajdonba-kerulhet/