Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok has asked Hungary to adhere to mutually-agreed rules for providing support in education and culture under an agreement signed by the two countries in 2004. The Slovak ministry claims that Hungary has unilaterally changed the method of paying subsidies since 2011. Dennik N daily in its Hungarian-language version reported that Korcok asked the Hungarians to pay school subsidies to Hungarians living in Slovakia via institutions and not directly to individuals. The Slovak Education Ministry has no official information on subsidies provided by Hungary to Slovak citizens. "The educational activities of ethnic-minority schools and educational institutions in Slovakia focus on preserving and developing the cultural and language identity of children and pupils who belong to ethnic minorities. Due to its specifics and particularities, education in ethnic-minority schools is more demanding in terms of time and finances," the ministry's communications department has told TASR, adding that this has been taken into account in the financing of ethnic-minority schools.
According to the Education Ministry, schools in Slovakia in which Hungarian is the teaching language have an opportunity to participate in open calls and apply for subsidies outside Slovakia. The ministry said that it has a positive attitude towards subsidies that strengthen the national identity of children and pupils of ethnic-minority schools. Similarly, Slovakia provides subsidies to Slovaks living abroad on the basis of valid internal regulations issued by the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad.
Source: TASR
