Confusion reigns in Hungary’s English-medium kindergarten sector after these institutions received letters in November from the Ministry of Human Resources informing them that – as the languages they work in are not among the official ‘ethnic languages’ of Hungary – these languages cannot be used in kindergarten.
The Ministry’s letter also ordered kindergartens to rename themselves to remove references to foreign languages. French and Spanish kindergartens also received these letters. German kindergartens are apparently unaffected, German being an ‘ethnic language’ of Hungary.
The following day a clarification was issued by a government spokesperson – English-medium kindergartens were, it seems, not banned after all.
Apparently the regulations in question – dating from 2010 – cover only the names that kindergartens can use. Foreign-language kindergartens will, it seems, still have to change their names. Hungarian-medium kindergartens that have only a few hours a week of English will also have to take the word ‘English’ out of the title of their institution.
