Teacher and Student Demonstrations in Hungary

Thousands of people demanded higher salaries for teachers, better conditions in schools and consultation on education in Budapest this Friday. Another demonstration has been called for the national day, October 23, and another teachers' strike will take place on October 27. In addition to the capital, protest actions were also held in many rural municipalities.

At least 75 demonstrations were held today by teachers and students protesting over the state of education and threats to sack teachers. Strikes and civil disobedience actions were also organized on Friday.

The largest demonstration was in Budapest, where protestors marched from Heroes' Square to the Ministry of the Interior, which was put in charge of edition issues this year. There, they symbolically burned the warning letters distributed by the school districts to teachers involved in the civil disobedience in a barrel.

At the rally, called "Fight Back - Hands Off Our Teachers", organized by the Students for Teachers Facebook group, students demanded, among other things, an immediate solution to the teacher shortage through a pay rise, a curriculum that is teachable and learnable, professional autonomy for teachers, livable conditions in schools and a meaningful dialogue on education.