Sona Gabzdi’lová: Quantitative changes in the Hungarian-language educational institutions and its students BETWEEN 1990-2001

Mother-language education of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Kindergartens. Primary schools. High schools. Grammar schools, vocational secondary schools, trade schools. Universities, colleges. Formation of the number of schools, classes, and students.

Hungarian-language teaching is ensured on the following three levels in Slovakia: kindergartens, primary schools, and high schools. The difference between the decreasing number of kindergartens in Slovak and Hungarian kindergartens during the examined period is minimal. A more significant difference (8%) can be shown in the decreasing number of Hungarian and Slovak nationality children, that is also the resut of natural decreasing number of Hungarian nationality population.

The number of Hungarian- and Slovak-language primary schools, and par-allelly the number of students, did not decrease during the examined period. The number of Hungarian-language classes decreased by 0,7%, while the Slovak-language classes decreased by 3,6%. The number of Hungarian students dropped by 17,9%. The number of Slovak classes decreased by 16,4%, the number of students decreased by 16,44%.

To the end of the examined period the number of high schools raised to 3322, from which in 147 the teaching language is Hungarian (4,4% of the total). The high schools were attended by 91 805 students, from which 3762 students attend Hungarian-language classes (4,1%). At high schools 6396 Hungarian nationality students pursue their studies, that means that 2634 (41,2%) students attend Slovak-language schools. The largest number of students is present at vocational secondary schools (1293 students), then at agricultural high schools (878 students), and at economic vocational secondary schools (841 students). The Hungarian nationality students from the secondary-education institutions prefer trade schools. In the 2001/2002 school year in all the types of secondary schools 19 963 Hungarian nationality students studied in total, from which 6 369 (31,9) at secondary vocational schools, 5 300 (26,5%) at grammar schools, 8 267 (41,4%) at trade schools. The three types of Hungarian-language secondary schools were attended by 12 097 students in total, from which 3 762 (31,1%) students chose vocational secondary schools, 4 288 (35,4%) students preferred grammar schools, and most of them, 4 047 (33,5%) students chose trade schools.

The number of Hungarin nationality university and college students does not reach 5%, although the Hungarian nationality people represent 11% of the total population of Slovakia.