Students throughout Hungary protest gov't education cutbacks (4)

（Xinhua）  16:40, December 13, 2012

The move would prevent a significant number of Hungarian young people from continuing their educations at home, which would seriously hurt the country socially and economically alike, said the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday HOOK resolved to set up a National Conference of Student Governments, set to meet in Budapest next week and include the conference of rectors and the unions. Once the meeting has agreed on a list of demands the conference will begin negotiations with the government.

On Dec. 3 the government put forward a proposal to parliament that would admit 74,110 students to colleges and universities but would limit the number of full scholarships to 10,480. Another 46,330 would receive partial scholarships.

The move effectively introduces tuition fees to Hungarian colleges, which are currently free-of-charge to all students meeting admission point criteria. HOOK protested the move and called for a referendum on the issue.