EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600020196-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 3, 2002
• Sequence Number: 196
• Publication Date: July 17, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIF ICATION:sH?;IZET/Ci 1 ? 67
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY Eunary
SUBJECT Educationai. j tem
PLACE
75X1A ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQU I RED
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DATE DISTR Jul ',2
NO OF PAGEE
NO OF ENCLS.
iLisTEL, EI OO
SUPPL FMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOURCE
1. Schools in ;min:,ary were under comiato control of thn
tiinintr. of Education LoL in durn, domLnated
by the USSR Conriurris tro ideology. 1,1, thd age or sLx, children
had already been Ideologically indoctrinated; tley had d_arned
that Stalin and Ral:osi were creat tenet 00:3 an leaders and
could uvon
.,hear names and HLlit them in unison. All.
textbooks acre lent to the students by the state and were
:written in propagandistic style.
2. In an effcrt to eliminate Illiteracy, the ninitarians enacted
a law in 'we which re ii red aid children between the ages of
six and 1/1 to attend the "Citiensi Schools". This law was
favorably received and was generally complied aith except in
some of tie outlying villaes and districts. Private schools
disappeared and only a feu parochial schools, principally
Evangelical and Reform, ,;ere still in existence; instruction
was by regular teachers and ',las, on the whole, good because
classes were small. I am not sure uf the fate of the Catholic
and Jewish schools. All sclools .:ere free. School buildings
were old and e,ciment was poor cycept in "workers" districts
wftere modern buildings ani facilities were being provided as
rapidly as funds ,lould permit. Overcrowding of schoolrooms was
quite general, due 1%rgely to the shortage of teachers. Parents
were encouraged to make suggestions relative to school matters,
but only such suggestions ns were in It interest e: the
established plan were accepted. In fact, parents felt that any
adverse suggestions 'would ri used LLgainst them in the future
with regard to 1: cur perscnal affairs and the admission of
their children to thc universitleo. Separate schools were
provided for boys and :rirls. few co-educational schools
existed but this was rrowned pon, and the trend was toward
separation e:,:cept in trade se::rets. Medicni examinations of
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LA
,
5. Class examinations weee
These were usually oral
usually consistee
Parents were eeve
-.T/SECeRrTY INFORMATIGN
given at
oed were
s
the end of every scnool year.
conducted by a committee which
teacher plus another teacher.
Emphaeis was
placed on the 1' _1, knowledge.
Failures were rar. ,e- e and. tht :ter purils were
held responsible icr faile es 2riz.te, merealo, fiee
excursions to the moueLains with the Pioneers, and eometimas
money, were gi en o, inCunemcnts to better scholarshipe. Stand-
ing at the heae of the class was leokea upon e signal honor.
6. The school life of the Hurgarian child may be div12ed into three
perie0s up to six y,ers ef age, frem sex to 10 yeere, arid from
ID to 14. The training during tne t'irst period (up to six
years of age) was the customary- kindergarten type. Nursery
eehools and kindergartens eere free but there were not n.s1r1:y
enough to all the child.een. Children ov workeng
euthers were ueuelle put in nureeries from th- 1;,_- sir
monthe to three years; :"rom three to six, they e.:..nded kinder-
eari:en. Some factories provided eueh schools. but, ? ften child-
ren of working parents eers left with in-laws or eie.ply locked
In the apartment. The Tioeteeee Lorend Univer1tY;
ta.egne, wee p;ann'.ne Le Lee a nue -!re fe.heol Teeelle eecond
pev'ed (eix to 10 jea-,_;), teainl_ee wee ....efine: to s).t - ght
'oe called cne "three s'e' in icungalue.nie:_eh the additice of the
reassian laeguege, De-ine the 10 to 14 age peelod the program
eae expanded to insloOs iitee .ure, grammar, natural .7c,ionco,
a choice., of Cerwen, een, or Italian, ideological -eurses,
end Russian eeaete. The latter received greaLeu empraeis
than livegarian geogranhe ml(h to the chagrin W. tnc HungaelanS.
Natural sciences were veee popular even at the lower school
levels. The eeeeeeeb were taught separately (ie, not as
e'eneraa science) without laboratory.
7. School attencance after the age of 7? ea. not compulsory in
Feangary Those who, had re:Jelled that eee and had completed
ea4".elaetorily the (1.tizel,A School might choose to learn a
trade, in which case t'nee oeeame apprentices and attended a
epecial echool once a wete,0 or they might enter one of three
types of secondary 9ehools, ie, gymnaeium, technics', or com-
mercial. Ade%esi, 'o the secondary school& was based on an
examination (w2- 'errtlely ideological), the pupil's
previous recore, e Jes.ely background (workers' children
were given preference), and his record in Pioneer and Demo-
cratic Youth groups (this aspect was considered highly important).
Selection of pupils for the secondary schools was made by
representatives of the school and the government. Secondary
education covered a period of four years; a nominal fee, in
keeping with the student 'e ability to pay, was charged.
Philosophy, literature, and courses bearing heavily on ideology
were required. The physieal 'iences were very much in demand
in the secondary school'; laboreeo-7 work was possible but
the equipment was poor ane old.
(a) Less than half of those who geoelvated from the Citizens'
Schools went to the gymnasium, which offered the most
general type of curriculum. Instruction was depart-
mentalized and In general good. Most teachers had a
diploma roughly equivalent to the U.S bacherlor's degree,
but their pay was ler, only 800forints per meeth after
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20 years' experience; their work load was 20-24 hours a
week. Pupils who expected to take up medicine or
dentistry were required to be graduates of the gymnasium.
Universities accepted graduates from the gymnasium; how-
ever, pupils ffr3m the technical schools were more likely
to be accepted by one of the scientific institutes of the
university.
(b) Pupils started work on their specialization in the tech-
nical schools and found it comparatively easy to get a
Job in industry upon the completion of the course. They
could make their own choice of place to work; however,
the government spread strong propaganda according to the
needs of the various ministries. In 1950 work in the
mines was. emphasized, while in 1951 work in the iron
and steel industry was strongly recommended.
It was the concensus of the staff
5X1X that the secondary schools offered adequate instruction
if the pupil would only learn; experience indicated that the
group entering the university was more poorly prepared each
succeeding year.
8. Admission to a university in Hungary was by invitation and
examination; the procedure was as follows: the Director., of
each secondary school (a teacher with a limited classroom load
of four to six hours) prepared a brief on those students who,
in his opinion, should attend the university; this brief in-
cluded information on school achievements, home life, and
community activities. Those who came from the laboring class
had an advantage. The briefs were then sent to the Minister
of Education who selected those whom he thought should attend
the university; this list was then sent to the university. The
officials of the institutes of the university sent invitations
to the selected students asking them to present themselves
for entrance examinations. The examinations were oral except
for one; the student had to explain in writing why he was
choosing a particular field, what he intended to accomplish,
and the responsibilities of a man in that field. Ideology
and Communist Party reliability weighed heavily in the
selection of students, and an ideological examination was
always included; this examination was introduced in 1948.
During this examination the student was asked to interpret
the latest news, both domestic and foreign, political and
economic, in the light of the Stalin-Lenin theory. He was
asked to explain his ideas of land distribution, national-
ization of industry, and in general the reforms introduced
by the Communist regime. Those who had not been active in
the youth movements stood little chance of being admitted.
In case a student did not receive an invitation to take the
examination, or failed the examination itself, he could seek
admission to the university after spending six months or a
year in a job requiring physical labor. Legally the physical
labor was not required, but it had become a practical hurdle.
His application would be reconsidered by the officials
concerned, and he could be accepted if there was room. The
university was very crowded and there were many rejections.
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9. In 1945 a new type of course was introduced in Hungary, not only
to increase the number of professional workers, but also to
give RA opportunity to those capable individuals who had had
no chance for higher education under the former regime. The
persons selected were usually farmers or workers who were
ideologically reliable and who showed some ability. For the
most part they were older (at least 30). They took a one-year
course (szakeretsegi tanfolyam) which covered only those
subjects pertinent to the particular field of specialization.
For instance, such people were admitted to the University Medical
School after studying, for one year, Latin, arithmetic, physics,
ohemistry2 biology, and physiology at a "college". There was
one such "college" on Vaci utca in Budapest. After the special
one-year course, the individual applied for the entrance
examination to the university. There were few failures in sub-
ject matter in this group, but failures in the ideological
examdnation were common. In 1951, 50 per cent of the students
of the university fell into this category and on the whole they
were good students. This type of study was to be discontinued
In 1952.
10. A "diploma" was awarded to those students who completed what
might be called the undergraduate program. The length of the
course varied slightly in different institutes. In chemistry
it was eight to nine semesters; in physics, 10; and in the
humanities, eight. Examinations were given at the end of every
year and at the end of the program. The practical philosophy
of failing a student was the following:
End
End of second year
the state has
End of third year
much money in
End of fourth year
him to remain
of first year - Don't fail him; everything is so new,
give him time to adjust.
- Don't fail him; he may improve and
already invested some money in him.
- Don't fail him after investing so
him.
- Don't fail him now after allowing
four years.
Instructors were charged to "funnel" enough information into
the student's head so that he could answer the questions on the
examination correctly. The examiner was instructed to put
the question until the student gave the correct answer.
one third of the students were of sub-university
caliber. There was a great demand for "diplom" students in
industry, particularly those Who had studied the physical
sciences. Until the "diplom" was granted, men and women
students received equal consideration. Thereafter, industry
gave man a decided preference because it was believed that they
make better supervisors.
11. Fees, tutition, breakage costs, etc were adjusted to the
student's ability to pay. They could be remitted entirely
for those whose parents were "poor workers" and politicalv
reliable, All university students had to study ideology two
hours a week, and spend two hours a week studying the Russian
language. All those men who were physically fit,as well as
women etudying medicine and pharmachwere required to take four
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hours of of military training per week. The theory was that instead
of postponing army service until the university student was
graduated, he would take such training concurrently with his
university studies and, upon graduation, would be placed in
the reserve.
12. For those who wished to continue their scientific education,
the following plan was set forth in a law which went into
effect in February 1951. After receiving a "diplom" the
student spent one year in practical work. (Legally he would
not have to work, but in practice he must.) Then he had to
pass a light examination mostly on ideological opinions. If
the report on his work was satisfactory, and he was successful
in his examination, he was recommended by a department or
institute to a committee of the Academy of Sciences which made
the final decision. If the action was favorable, the student
became an "aspirant". In selecting an 'spirant" great stress
was placed on political reliability. Often students, who
knew the subject well, were rejected because they were con-
sidered ideologically unreliable. In January 1952 there were
nine people working as "aspirants" in the natural sciences at
5X1X I I As an "aspirant" the student
worked approximately three years. Courses in Russian were
required as were certain subject matter courses, in which the
student might be lacking. Most of this time was spent in the
solution of a problem set by the professor. The report of the
solution of the problem (dissertation) had to be accepted by
two officers of the university. If they approved the disser-
tation, the student was allowed to defend it in public and
he became a "candidate" for the doctoral degree. Atter a
lapse of at least a year, some publications, and another
examination, the degree of Doctor of Science was granted. The
doctoral degree as well as all academic titles were abolished
by the government in 1950, but academic objection was so great
that, upon the intervention of the Academy of Sciences, the
degree was restored after a short time. It was planned to fill
all positions of responsibility in the government with indivi-
duals having doctors degrees, hence every possible precaution
was taken to see that candidates were politically reliable.
Since the law had only been in force about a yearl I
it was too early to judge its operation. 1 .
5X1X!Under the
present regime, candidate was also an honorary title; pro-
fessors with degrees now at the university could apply for it
and after the necessary investigation by the committee an hon-
orary degree of Doctor of Science ,L,1 be awarded. Those with
the doctoral degree were assigned jobs by the Ministry of
Education. If a student refused to accept an assignment he had
to wait six months before getting another. When any ministry
asked for a man employed by some other ministry, a satisfactory
replacement had to be made. Arbitrarily leaving a job to
which one had been assigned carried a penalty of five years in
prison. "Aspirants" were paid a salary of 1500 forints per
month; candidates got an additional 400 forints; and an
honorary doctor of science received an additional 800 forints
per month. In 1951, a regulation was put into effect pro-
hibiting any student from doing "outside" work.
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