Budapest high school principal dismissed over unwillingness to comply with new regulation on limiting use of mobile phones in schools

On 28 August 2024, the Ministry of the Interior (which oversees education) dismissed Csaba Mészáros, the principal of Budapest’s renowned Madách Imre High School, with immediate effect. The ministry justified the decision by stating that "a leader who does not comply with the law and openly opposes it cannot be allowed to run a state institution."

The legislation the ministry is referring to was published on 8 August, and aims to restrict the use of mobile phones in Hungarian schools from the start of the new school year (02 September). According to the new law, students will be allowed to take their phones into their schools at the beginning of the day, but will have to hand them in to their teachers upon arrival and will only get them back once the last lesson has finished.

Madách Imre High School had previously informed the public via its social media page that their students’ digital devices will not be taken away each day before classes begin, adding that

"The pedagogical goal of our school is to instill the correct use of digital tools instead of banning it."

The statement from the school's teaching staff also said that it would be "unrealistic" for the students to hand in their mobile phones, as they could need them in any of their lessons to support their studies.

The measure recently adopted by the Hungarian parliament applies to elementary schools, high schools (from grade 5-12), and vocational high schools (from grade 9-13), and according to its provisions, the use of telecommunication devices, devices capable of recording images or sound and devices capable of accessing the internet will be subject to restrictions during school hours.

The regulation has been criticized mainly for turning teachers into gendarmes, and for only using the means of prohibition rather than trying to incorporate smart devices into the teaching process, and offering an alternative to the undoubtedly addictive use of smartphones.

It was previously described by the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (Pedagógusok Demokratikus Szakszervezete – PDSZ) as "ill-advised and incomplete". According to them, the legislation "is unrealistic and places an unnecessary extra burden on educational institutions, whilst at the same time solving nothing".

Similar regulations are in place for example in Sweden and the United Kingdom. In France, the use of mobile phones in elementary schools was banned in 2018, applicable to all students until the age of 15. In the case of high schools, on the other hand – unlike in Hungary – it is up to the individual educational institutions whether they allow the use of mobiles during school hours.

A 2023 UNESCO report on the issue also recommends tackling the question of the use of mobile phones in schools. According to the material, students should be educated about both the risks and the opportunities of the technology available, but they should not be completely cut off from using it. The report also states that these devices should be used in schools exclusively for supporting the process of learning.

Following Wednesday’s news about the dismissal of Csaba Mészáros, the school’s staff published a statement saying that they were “utterly shocked and perturbed” to find out about it and “consider the fact of the dismissal, its justification and its manner unacceptable."

The principal said goodbye to his post at Madách Imre High School in a social media post, in which he primarily blames the media for his dismissal, saying that he had previously indicated to State Secretary Zoltán Maruzsa that they would not be taking away their students' mobile phones, and he had no problem with it at the time.

"The media blew it all up on the 26th, when they reported on our announcement from 19 August, and this is what led to my dismissal. Because I had already told the State Secretary on August 22 that we had released the statement. He had no objection to it then (or later) because "the regulation is so well done that it even allows for this". If there had been no media hype, I would not have been dismissed. Because it's not the facts that matter, but the scandal and the precedent."

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of current and former students and their parents, as well as students from other high schools gathered in front of Madách Imre High School to protest the decision. Some of the speakers pointed out that Mészáros had led the institution successfully for 24 years, as well as that it had become the country’s 9th best high school under his leadership.

A bigger protest is being organized for 2 September in front of the building of the Ministry of Interior.