Hungarian education at a turning point: Judit Lannert and the redesign of a system

“The system has become exhausted”

A recurring feeling in public discourse is that the education system has simply become exhausted. Teachers are overburdened, many schools face shortages, and fewer and fewer young people are choosing the profession. Students often feel that there is too much rote learning and too little genuinely useful knowledge. Parents, meanwhile, often try to make up through private lessons for what schools are unable to provide.

This everyday experience points to a broader problem: many believe that schools today no longer prepare students adequately either for life or for the world of work.

Teacher shortages and growing inequalities

Behind the visible problems lie serious structural challenges. The shortage of teachers is becoming increasingly severe, while those still in the profession are overworked. The centralisation of recent years has narrowed the room for manoeuvre available to schools, causing rigidity and frustration in many places.

At the same time, inequalities are widening: it matters greatly which region a student lives in and what family background they come from. Education is increasingly unable to offset these differences, which may lead to social tensions in the longer term.

What could Judit Lannert, the Tisza government’s minister for children and education, bring?

Judit Lannert is not a traditional political figure, but an education researcher, economist and sociologist who thinks in systemic terms. She has worked in the field of education for more than 30 years and was previously a senior researcher at the National Institute for Public Education. Her approach is less loud and confrontational, but much more focused on data and long-term solutions.

Based on her previous public statements, the expected directions may include:

less emphasis on lexical knowledge and more on skills development;
greater autonomy for schools;
strengthening the teaching profession;
decisions based on data rather than political reflexes.

This does not promise a quick, spectacular reform, but rather a slower and more durable transformation.

The real challenge: trust and perseverance

Most people agree that change must begin with improving the situation of teachers. If there are not enough teachers, or if they do not feel respected, then any reform is doomed to fail.

At the same time, rebuilding trust is just as important. In recent years, serious tensions have developed around education, and relations between the different actors in the system have weakened.

The new minister therefore faces a dual task: she must transform an overloaded system while also rebuilding trust among those who keep it running.

The question is no longer whether change is needed — almost everyone agrees on that. The question is whether Judit Lannert will be able to launch a process that not only sounds convincing, but can actually be implemented. If she succeeds, the effects will be felt not only in schools, but in Hungarian society as a whole over the long term

Photo: Facebook/ Tisza Párt