Overview

Tens of thousands of ethnic Hungarians of Transylvania participated in mass demonstrations in 1990 demanding the creation of the independent Hungarian language education system in Romania, including the re-establishment of the state-funded, public university teaching in Hungarian.
From 1992 to 1997, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) collected over 600,000 signatures to support the said objectives. This civic initiative would be more than sufficient in a true democracy to grant certain rights, which otherwise do not hinder the interests of any other groups.
In 2001, the Romanian Parliament rejected 2 bids submitted back in 1998 by the representatives of the Hungarian minority demanding the re-establishment of the state-funded “Bolyai” University. In the same year, the Romanian Intelligence Service labelled the intention to create the independent Hungarian language education system in Romania as a threat to national security.
InOctober 2005, thousands of people marched the streets of 4 major cities in Transylvania demanding the same education rights. In December 2005, 149 university teachers of the “Babes-Bolyai” University, i.e. 83% of the Hungarian teaching staff demanded in their petition the creation of the natural sciences, humanities and social and economic studies faculties teaching in the Hungarian language at the “Babes-Bolyai” University. Moreover, the Regular Report of the European Commission on Romania also urged the development of the Hungarian language higher education and that the necessary financial resources be provided to this end. The “Babes-Bolyai” University ruling to impede the creation of the said 3 Hungarian faculties infringes on Article 123 of the Romanian Education Act as well as on its own University Charta. Nevertheless, the Romanian Education Act provides for the creation of Hungarian faculties within the universities that already exist, it does not allow for the creation of a stand-alone public Hungarian University. Therefore, the creation of a new University Accreditation Act would also be important in order to smoothen the process of building the independent, Hungarian language higher education.

The spokespersons of extreme Romanian nationalism, among them some of ethnic the Hungarian university staff often propagate lies and false arguments to hamper the process of building an independent, Hungarian language higher education institution. Therefore, we believe that it is very necessarry to provide an insight of the most important arguments and facts to support university autonomy.

1. In no country separate universities or faculties are organised on a language basis.
Not true. The Finns in Sweden (community of 300.000), the Sami in Norway (community of 80,000), the Catalans in Spain (community of 6,000,000), the Hungarians in Slovakia (community of 500,000), the Gagauz in Moldova (community of 150,000), and the Albanians in Macedonia (community of 700.000) benefit of one or more independent universities that teach in their respective languages.
In addition, there are higher education institutions in Nitra, Slovakia and Fribourg, Switzerland, which function with Hungarian and Slovak, as well as German and French structures, respectively. Moreover, even the “Babes-Bolyai” University has 2 independent Hungarian-language theology faculties.
The future creation of the natural sciences, humanities and social and economic studies faculties teaching in the Hungarian language at the “Babes-Bolyai” University represent the first step towards the establishment of the “Bolyai” University. We need to stress out that these faculties will be created on a language basis not on an ethnic one.

2. Ethnic Hungarian youth are represented in the Romanian higher education system according to their share in the general population.
Not true. According to the 2002 census, 6.6% of the general population in Romania are ethnic Hungarian. Data released in 2005 by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research reveal that of 650.335 university students 29,136 are ethnic Hungarian, which count for only 4.4% of that population.
Statistically speaking, in Romania, one state-funded higher education institution serves a population of 400,000. Since the census of 2002 puts the number of ethnic Hungarians of Romania to some 1.5 million, it would be justified to maintain 3 or 4 public (state-financed) Hungarian universities.

3. A wide range of specialisations taught in the mother tongue are available to future Hungarian students.
Not true. No courses in engineering specialisations are offered in Hungarian at any public university. No studies are available in veterinary medicine, agricultural sciences or in most of the arts specialisations for those who whish to pursue courses in the Hungarian language. Though training is offered formally in Hungarian to would-be lawyers at the “Babes-Bolyai” University, the vast majority of the courses are taught in the Romanian language, as there is only one full-time Hungarian teacher employed at the Department of Law.
These shortcomings explain why only one-third of the Hungarian university students, i.e. some 10,000 may study in their mother tongue, which amounts to only 1.6% of the total number of students in the country.

4. The ratio of university degree holders in the ethnic Hungarian population matches the average in the general population.
Unfortunately, this is not true. 2002 census data shows that the ratio of degree holders in the general population is 6.6%, whereas in the Hungarian community this is only 4.48%, i.e. some 30,000 less than expected. The negative impacts of lower education levels can easily be identified on the short run, with a clear trend to increase further in a knowledge based society. Ironically, as for high school graduates the Hungarian community tops the list of ethnic groups of Romania: 64.64% of ethnic Hungarians graduated from high school, while 58.1% of ethnic Romanians have the same level of education. When it comes to university degrees though, the Hungarian community lags far behind the national average.

5. Hungarian students are not supportive to the re-establishment of the Hungarian language “Bolyai” University.
Not true. This statement stems from the false interpretation of the findings of a controversial survey conducted in 1996. The survey showed that 80% of the Hungarian students would support more independence given to Hungarian higher education. The Hungarian Students’ Union of Kolozsvár / Cluj, one of the major students’ associations in Romania states in its by-laws the demand of re-establishing the “Bolyai” University, and claims itself to be the students’ organisation of that institution.
Since its creation, the Hungarian Students’ Union actively participated in the actions aiming at the re-establishment of the “Bolyai” University: they organised a number of mass demonstrations during the 1990s and were the co-organisers of the recent street marches in October 2005.

6. Breaking independent the Hungarian-language higher education would worsen the quality of the education.
Ironically, this false argument is given exactly by Romanian teaching staff who many times opposed the development of the Hungarian higher education. On a very concerned and patronising tone the very many disadvantages are listed, which the Hungarian community would have to face if independent higher education structures are created. Each and every community should be provided with the opportunity to develop their own institutions meant to ensure that theuir identity is preserved. No members of the majority are allowed to use this tone to speak for the minority.
With the independent faculties and university in place, the responsibility of taking the decisions will rest with those who best know the details of the issues in question. At present, in most cases the Hungarian section at the „Babes-Bolyai” University is fully under the authority of the Romanian academic leadership. Hungarian teaching staff is forced very often to follow the curricula set up according to the needs and interest of their Romanian colleagues. Faculty managements with Romanian majority may at any times vote against and oppress any proposals made by the Hungarian teaching staff, including proposals with the sole intention to set up Hungarian-language specialisations or departments.
Courses of the Hungarian section are scattered in several other departments, and as a result no vacant teaching positions can be announced for courses, which are distributed among teachers employed at other departments. It would be very important to hire Hungarian teaching staff, as even in the present structure 40% more teachers are needed at the Hungarian section.
The Faculty of Law at the „Babes-Bolyai” University is one of the negative examples: the Romanian management of the Faculty successfully opposed the organisation of the Hungarian section, and therefore, at present there is only one full-time teacher employed at that faculty.
As the Hungarian teaching staff has no power of decision, their meetings are purely formal, there is no official body or council to act as the representative organisation for the Hungarian teaching staff and to oversee the functioning of the Hungarian departments. Not only the lack of power of decision paralyses the Hungarian section, but also the total financial dependence on the central structures. Therefore, independence of the Hungarian higher education structures in fact means decentralisation, efficiency and is a matter of organisational improvement that would benefit not only the ethnic Hungarian students, but the structure of the „Babes-Bolyai” University as a whole, including all students and teaching staff.

7. There is no Hungarian teaching staff for many subject matters.
Partly true, but this cannot be under any circumstances an impediment to the development of the Hungarian-language higher education, than rather a reason for it. There is a large number of examples of local experts or visiting professors from Hungary who helped supplement the lack of teachers. This is clearly a cause-and-effect issue: it was the lack of proper higher education institutions that lead to the decrease in the number of teachers and not the teaching staff left the beautifully developed Hungarian faculties.

8. Breaking independent the Hungarian-language higher education would worsen the Romanian language skills of Hungarian students, which indirectly increase immigration to Hungary.
Not true. Students learn the Romanian language in high school or before, not at the University. Romanian technical terminology can be learnt in dedicated courses, which do not exist as yet at the „Babes-Bolyai” University. There is no sound evidence that the supposedly ’poor’ Romanian language skills motivate ethnic Hungarians of Romania to immigrate to Hungary.
First and foremost, students of the teacher training departments should be required to speak proper Hungarian as they will teach in Hungarian schools. In addition, all university graduates entering the labour market should be provided with proper English language skills, which currently is not happening at the „Babes-Bolyai” University due to its faulty foreign language teaching strategy.
The real danger right now is that students learning in the Romanian environment are assimilated and change their language and loose identity. Experience shows that many Hungarian students learning in Romania do not know the Hungarian technical terms and gradually loose even their Hungarian language skills. It is a sad fact that ethnic Hungarian specialists graduating from Romanian universities are not able to complete a research paper in the Hungarian language.
Please note that numbers of ethnic German students of South Tyrol (Italy) study in the German language in Austria at the University of Innsbruck on scholarships provided by the Italian government. On their return to Italy they meet no difficulties in getting jobs on the Italian labour market. Likewise, graduates of the former Hungarian-language „Bolyai” University, liquidated in 1959, could also get well along in Romanian workplaces.

9. The private Hungarian-language university of Transylvania (Sapientia-EMTE) provides poor education, lacks teachers and faces many issues. Hungarians of Transylvania are not able to sustain the quality of their higher education institutions.
False. Establsihing a University has never been an easy task, however, most departments at the EMTE got over the difficulties of the first stages. Without proper independent institutions there will never be available a reliable pool of teaching staff. The newly started Romanian departments at the „Babes-Bolyai” University face the same issues as the EMTE, only that no-one speaks about them.

10. There is no need to re-establish the „Bolyai” University as the needs of the Hungarian-language higher education may be resolved with the Romanian government co-financing the Hungarian private universities (EMTE and PKE).
Evasive statement. Unprecedentedly, the Romanian political elite intentionally blocks the balanced redistribution of the Hungarian taxpayers’ money of Romania into the development of the Hungarian-language higher education. The Hungarian-language private universities of Transylvania (EMTE, PKE) were set up from the taxpayers’ money of Hungary to meet the higher education needs of the Hungarian community in Romania. This, however, did not put an end to the state-level discrimination. It is unprecedented in the international experience that the taxpayers of a certain country benefit of basic services paid for by the taxpayers of another country. It is the constitutional right of Hungarians in Romania to pursue university studies in their mother tongue.
Moreover, the EMTE and PKE are private universities, which cannot fully take over the task of providing higher education to the full spectrum of the Hungarian community in Romania. There is no university capable of providing education for all the professions needed for a community from teachers to engineers, to artists and physicians.
In addition, the vast majority of the Hungarian university teachers in Romania are employed at the „Babes-Bolyai” University. EMTE and PKE may not be turned into a state university even with the support of the Romanian government. Occasional support never made a sustainable institution.

11. Let the market drive the real needs. Many learn in Romanian, because it is better for them.
False assumption. The Romanian polical elite and academic leadership spare little resources to hinder that the Hungarian students learn in higher education institutions that really meet their needs. Many specialisations are overwhelmed by students at the EMTE. These are mainly engineering specialisations, with a clear market demand, still, no such training is provided in the Hungarian language at the existing state higher education institutions. Moreover, agricultural engineers, forest engineers and veterinarians are very much needed on the market, still, the organisation of such training in the Hungarian langauge faces fierce opposition by nationalists.
The „Gheorghe Dima” Music Academy, the Agricultural University of Kolozsvár / Cluj and the „Petru Maior” University of Marosvásárhely / Targu Mures refused to set up at least courses in the Hungarian language for their ethnic Hungarian students.

12. “Babes-Bolyai” is a multicultural University.
Not true. The exact opposite applies. Hungarian is not an official langauge of the University. Hungarian inscriptions and indicators are missing, almost all important publications are printed only in the Romanian language. Diplomas and certificates are issued only in Romanian. Hungarian staff is severely underrepresented in the administration. Hungarian teaching staff is underrepresented in decision-making as except for the faculties of theology, no Hungarian deans are elected at the faculties of natural sciences, humanities or social sciences. Nevertheless, University management stresses permanently the multicultural nature of the institution, probably hoping that lies, which are repeated often, would eventually turn into reality.
It is also feared that a nationalist and aggressive university management or political elite could easily liquidate even the existing Hungarian higher education, if no proper Hungarian faculty structures and universities are established.

13. The Romanian government was generous enough to double the subsidy for university students learning in Hungarian as compared to the Romanian students.
Indeed, the specific costs of Hungarian higher education exceed those of the Romanian. However, this emerges from the state’s constitutoinal obligations to counterbalance the demographic disadvantages of a minority community. It is a matter of obligation, not generosity. Neverthless, the Hungarian community in Transylvania would assume this obligation, if left alone to decide on its own of the utilization of their taxmoney.
The Romanian government spends on average only EUR 500 / year / student, whereas the Western-european average amounts to EUR 5,000. This comparison reflects clearly that if the state subsidy given to the Romanian higher education reached acceptable levels, there would be no need to provide any supplementary grants. The creation of the independent faculties and university would allow for establishing a system of supplementary earmarked grants, so that the sponsors would know where their money goes.

14. The Hungarian faculties would not be able to survive financially.
Not true. Experts of the line ministry say that the doubling of the subsidy for university students learning in Hungarian is sufficient to ensure the financial sustainability of the three Hungarian faculties. These comprehensive structures would ensure the long-term viability against the temporary fluctuations of student numbers.

15. We are facing low demographic numbers, and the independent university would go bankrupt because of lack of students. Students are going to study abroad in Hungary, and this process will even enhance after Romania’s accession to the EU.
This is partly true. Undoubtedly, birth rates are low and the Hungarian population decreases also due to immigration. However, there are 1.5 million ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and several minority communities with less than 500,000 souls benefit of state-funded higher education institutions that teach in their mother tongue. Nonetheless, several states in Europe have a population similar to the number of Hungarians in Romania (ranging from Estonia 1,300,000 to Latvia 2,300,000), and are able to sustain and develop their higher education system.
There is a significant potential within the secondary education as well: only about half of the 8th graders learning in Hungarian succeed to graduate from high school. It is true that the EU accession provides the theoretical possibility to a Romanian citizen to study at a German university, but to most families in Transylvania this would be almost impossible because of financial reasons. Moreover, some families barely afford to send their children to study in a nearby city, and they would not even consider sending their children to more distant and expensive places to study.

16. The Hungarian population of Romania is ageing, and young age groups of Hungarians in the general population represent less than 6.6%. Therefore, Hungarians are entitled to lower sets of numbers of students being accepted into higher education in the mother tongue.
Gross untruth. Data released in 2005 by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research reveal that 6.38% of the all kindergarten pupils in Romania are ethinc Hungarian. Consequently, the decrease in the proportion is minimal, and in comparison with the number of students admitted to Romanian-language education, the previous sets of numbers of Hungarian students to be accepted in higher education should be maintained.

17. „Bolyai” University was forced into being by the communist regime.
The exact opposite is true. „Bolyai” University was created by a Royal Decree in 1945, so as to demonstrate to the international opinion the existence of a positive approach to minorities. It was the communist Romanian government that dissolved the university in 1959. The forced merging with the Romanian-language „Babes” University was a retaliation for the Hungarian sympathy demonstrations in Transylvania with the Hungarian anti-communist Revolution of 1956, and it never had any legally justifiable grounds.
The abolishment of the Hungarian-language University of Kolozsvár / Cluj was orchestrated by the former communist dictator Nicolae Ceauºescu and Ion Iliescu, president of Romania elected after 1989. Several Hungarian teachers and students were imprisoned beacause of their views on that occasion, while others were driven to commit suicide.

18. Supporters of the independent University wish to establish ethnic segregation.
Not true. Leaders of the Hungarian section of the „Babes-Bolyai” University repeatedly declared that at the independent University solely the language of the education would be Hungarian – ethnicity would, of course, be immaterial when hiring staff or admitting students. Only language and professional skills would matter. Moreover, several ethnic Romanian students or students having the first language as Romanian already study at the Hungarian-language section of the „Babes-Bolyai” University; consequently, there is no sign or intention of any ethnic segregation.
The independent Hungarian system of institutions would serve the sole purpose of preserving the Hungarian identity against the assimilationist bias of the Romanian political elite and academic leadership.

19. The creation of the Hungarian faculties / University leads to ethnic conflicts.
False. Ethnic conflicts emerge always as the result of denying certain rights as it happened in South Tyrol, Basque Country, Kosovo, Macedonia or the Republic of Moldva. A good example in this sense is that the creation of the private Hungarian-language University of Transylvania (EMTE) did not lead to any ethnic conflicts. The re-establishment of the „Bolyai” University and the settlement of the situation of the Hungarian national community in Transylvania would strengthen the stability of Romania and improve its international appreciation.

20. The Hungarian University would loose laboratory equipment.
Malicious statement. There would be no legal grounds for such a decision. Nertheless, both parties are interested in the joint use and decvelopment of the laboratory equipment. This should be regarded as a technicality. Moreover, most of the laboratories are very poorly equipped. In order to ensure the quality of education new laboratories should be set up.

21. The Hungarian University would loose the books and manuals held at the Central University Library.
False. Surprisingly, the Central University Library in Kolozsvár / Cluj is under the authority of the Minsitry of Culture and Religions, i.e. not under the authority of the Ministry of Education and Research, so the books are not on the „Babes-Bolyai” University’s inventory. Moreover, most of the faculty libraries lack newly edited and printed manuals and books, and their functionality is far from the expectations.

22. Development of the Hungarian higher education can only be realized if the goals are adapted to the interests of the Romanians.
This statement is meant to hide the real objective, which is the truly equitable settlement of the relationship between the minority and majority. Let us look briefly at some examples around Europe:

– the Sami in Norway did not have to face any nationalist opposition and could establish easily their University;
– after hard negotiations Hungarians in Slovakia obtained the right to establish „Selye János” University in Révkomárom / Komarno and the Hungarian faculties at „Konstantin” University in Nyitra / Nitra;
– Wales autonomy came into being also following decades of negotiations and hundreds of years of English domination and assimilation, with the number of speakers of the Welsh language falling below 800,000, i.e. just under 20% of the general population of Wales;
– Catalan autonomy emerged after series of mass demonstrations;
– Basque autonomy resulted partly after mass demonstrations, partly after the violent manifestations of the Basque resistance movement;
– the Swedish Army was mobilised in 1919 to protect the Sweds in Finland; the resolution was brought about by an international compromise;
– the Italian government granted autonomy to the German minority in South Tyrol after partisan actions paralysing Milan’s electricity supply;
– Albanians in Macedonia could re-establish their previously destroyed University only after fierce fights won by their guerilla army.
Hungarians in Serbia and Turks in Bulgaria are still denied a series of basic minority rights.

23. The fight for minority rights would spark disagreement of the EU political leaders.
The exact opposite is true. There are politicians in the EU who wish to gloss over the real issues and preserve the status quo, though it is known that this approach caused enormous suffering on our continent. However, EU decision-makers increasingly admit that Hungarians in Transylvania are not determined enough in demanding their rights, and they do not employ all means both internally and externally to do this.
The EU is interested in resolving and avoiding tensions in any of the member states. If Hungarians in Transylvania settle for being deprived of certain rights, there will be no tension for sure, but no-one will stand up for their rights instead of them. If the community is able of showing legitimately that they do not accept the current situation, and they are persistant in their endeavour, the international community and the Romanian political elite will eventually realize that the only solution is granting the rights and not denying them.

We believe that it is worthwile to look at some of the facts that allow for predicting what tactics would the opponents of the Hungarian higher education adopt in various stages of the process.

1. Questioning the goals
This stage lasted from 1995 until October 17th, 2005, however most of the Romanian political elite and academic leadership still questions whether the goals set by the Hungarians are legitimate or not. In this stage it is perfectly acceptable to openly declare that the very existence of the independent Hungarian higher education system would harm both democracy and the interests of the Hungarian minority. This sort of diversion reached its peak in 1996, and it continued in 2004, when even a chat forum was dedicated to it entitled “Do we really need this? Hungarian faculties at the Babes-Bolyai Universityen?”. In spring 2005 one of the newly elected vice-rectors of the said University declares: “I fear that if the ministry of education issues the decree that provides for the creation of the Hungarian faculties, it will create for itself a problem that can only be solved by withdrawing or declaring void that decree within a year.” Many declarations of the university leaders contain hidden threats, i.e. if you continue complaining, you will loose whatever you still have.
The leaders of the fight are threatened and are isolated in this stage: the University’s Official Journal launched a lamentable attack on one of the leaders of the group that demands idnependent Hungarian higher education, others had to face unjust accusations.

2. Questioning the means and the timing
This stage started on October 17th, 2005, and it is about to end. The success of the demonstrations, the press echo and the latent support turning into open advocay forced the opponents to give up their up front strategies against the idnependent Hungarian higher education structures. They organised sceintific conferences and used other disguises to undermine the idea. Opposition leaders either ceased to make declarations or changed their views saying that they have always been supportive of the idea, adding that they just do not agree with the methods adopted. It is also important to note that only 2 out of the 179 Hungarian teachers at the „Babes-Bolyai” University voted for keeping the present structure of the institutions. One of the 2 opponents happens to be one of the the Hungarian vice-rectors of the „Babes-Bolyai” University.
Many invoked the lack of dialogue and proper preparations, but failed to show up on the occasions dedicated especially to having a dialogue and preparing the process of creating the independent structures.
In this stage supporters and sympathisers are threatened or isolated. Supporters are often accused that they deliberately time their demonstrations so as to undermine those plans of the opposers, which otherwise would have miraculously solved the whole issue if only they were let to carry them out on their own.

3. Derailing the decisions
If it becomes obvious that certain concessions will eventually have to be made to the Hungarians, the opposition attempts to minimize the importance of the fight by saying that what could be obtained is much more than the initial goal of the fight was. This stage is just unfolding: one of the vice-rectors said: “I do not rule out the possibility that an even more ambitious agenda is born, going way beyond the goals for which the initiators of the „Bolyai University” started their campaign of collecting signatures”. By the way: this is the strategy employed by the Romanian politicians to humiliate EU decision-makers.
In this stage the opposition will try to challenge the legitimacy of the initiators, and will attempt to select Hungarian teachers easy to manipulate to be the party they negotiate with. The opposition will even take back on the second day the promises they make on the previous days’ talks.

4. Hindering the implementation of agreements obtained with difficulty
This stage will occur after the creation of the Hungarian faculties / University. The opposition will attempt to make impossible the functioning of the newly created structures, for instance, by giving „reasons” why costs should be cut. It is also expected that the staff is instigated against the management of the new institutions.

Conclusion

Having listed the above arguments, a sole answer remains to the frequently asked question, why the Romanian political elite and the academic leaders impede the development of the Hungarian-language higher education system in Transylvania. One of the priorities of the Romanian political elite is the liquidation of the Hungarian community in Transylvania. Thus, their full assimilation can only be achieved if no institutions are allowed, which otherwise would provide the Hungarian community with the right to take decisions independently and to manage significant financial resources, be that a Faculty at the University or territorial self-governance. A University is much more than an education institution: it is a pool of intellectuals that creates knowledge and opens up the minds of the people for the material and spiritual benefit of the community that supports it.

We believe that the re-establishment of the "Bolyai" University can only be delayed but may not be impeded. Those who want to delay it, regardless to who they are, will remain as dark figures on the pages of the history books. Hungarians in Transylvania will enhance the fight for their human and minority rights. If our demands find a positive response, Romania will be part of the European Union as a member state that is able to provide stability and sustainable solutions; otherwise it will drag into the Union a series of unresolved issues.

Discussion/Fórum