Education: one size fits all

From the next year, primary and secondary education will be standardised completely in Hungary.

All schools will be required to teach identical course materials throughout the country. This means inter alia that all schools will use the same teaching books and all teachers will need to follow the same detailed curriculum.

This curriculum has some fine specifics to it. For instance, English will be abolished as the first foreign language and will be replaced by German. The official explanation on the Ministry of Education's behalf was that English as a first foreign language has given kids the false impression that learning a foreign language is simple, hence the need for change,

This in a country where it is rather typical that youngsters learn many years English at school but still aren't able to communicate at any level.