Budapest (MTI) – Hungarian immigration office (BAH) data indicates there are around 200 children staying at refugee reception centres, the daily Magyar Nemzet said.
BAH said 158 of the children are of school age, while 47 of them should be starting kindergarten in September. Out of all the reception centres, the one in Debrecen has the most children, a total of 70, BAH told the paper.
The immigration office said it was impossible to determine how many of the children would be going to school next month, adding that the children tend to stay at the reception centres for 15-19 days.
The human resources ministry told Magyar Nemzet that setting up schools on the reception centres’ premises is legally possible, but there is no reason to do so yet. The ministry added that conditions in the schooling system were not suitable for teaching “children of so many different native languages”. The ministry said the children could attend schools in their respective areas and be schooled in Hungarian.
Photo: MTI