October 2006

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YOUNG ETHNIC ROMAS ASK FOR STATE UNIVERSITY IN MOTHER TONGUE (Divers news bulletin)

October 2006 - Various ethnic Roma youngsters' lit candles Tuesday, October 17, in Matei Corvin piazza, the position of the candles accounting for the word "Bolyai-Egyetemet (Bolyai University)". They ask for the setting up of a state university in ethnic Hungarian language and for the financing from Romania's state budget of ethnic Hungarian private universities Sapientia and Partium. The Hungarian minority of Romania is the largest ethnic minority in Romania, consisting of 1,431,807 people and making up 6.6% of the total population, according to the 2002 census.

Bolyai University is the largest state-funded tertiary education institution in Transylvania. More than 30% of courses are held in the Hungarian language. There is currently a proposal by local Hungarians, supported by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, to separate the Hungarian-language department from the institution, and form a new, Hungarian-only Bolyai University. The former Bolyai University was disbanded in 1956 by Romanian Communist authorities and united with the Romanian Babeº University to form the multilingual Babeº-Bolyai University that continues to exist today. According to Romania's minority rights law, Hungarians have the right to education in their native language, including as a medium of instruction, in localities where they make up more than 20% of the population. However, the ratio of Hungarians graduating from higher education is lower than the national average.

Cristina Sandor, president with the Hungarian Youngsters' Council in Romania, said that "Ethnic Hungarians in Romania are the only numerous ethnic group in Europe that has not established an academic education. Babes-Bolyai university is not subject to multiculturalism because the education in ethnic Hungarian tongue has no financial autonomy and cannot be efficiently organized. We pay the taxes of Romania and we think we are entitled to a state university in ethnic Hungarian”.