Teachers’ union says it hopes Judit Lannert no longer holds her previous position

Hungary’s PDSZ teachers’ union says small schools should not be closed under a single nationwide rule, even where some institutions have effectively emptied. The union wants authorities to examine each case separately.

That assessment should include whether children can travel safely to another settlement, whether suitable school buses exist, and whether closing a local institution could cause some children to drop out of education. The PDSZ therefore rejects a general rationalization covering every school.

Union president Erzsébet Nagy also rejected the idea that all school principals should be dismissed. “We do not think that all school principals should be replaced,” she said. The union has long called for employees to have a genuine say in evaluating their own leaders.

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Small schools cannot be closed under a general rule

The PDSZ supports confidential confidence votes in which school staff could decide whether they consider a principal’s performance acceptable. Nagy said such a system would not automatically lead to leadership changes. Principals who retain their staff’s trust and perform their jobs properly could instead receive renewed support.

On Judit Lannert’s earlier comments about teachers, Nagy avoided directly judging the minister’s position. She said Lannert should first be asked whether she still stands by those views. Until she answers, Nagy argued, it would be inappropriate to assess Lannert’s current position on the basis of a statement made years ago and, in Nagy’s view, taken out of context.

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We do not think that all school principals should be replaced