In the Hungarian public education system, external assessment of education for students happens based on national assessments, and on national pedagogical professional inspection.
The system of internal self-assessment within the institution, for teachers, school heads and institutions has been operating in Hungarian public education since 2013. The teacher and the institution shall carry out a self-assessment every five years. The assessment of the school head within the institution shall happen in the second and fourth years of the appointment of a head.
The national pedagogical professional inspection (inspection system) functions as an assessment system operating on the basis of external unified criteria. The national pedagogical professional inspection covers the inspection of the teacher, the school head and the institution. Within the frames of the national pedagogical professional inspection operated by the Minister responsible for public education, the inspection of public educational institutions is repeated every five years and closed by an assessment is organised by the Educational Authority. The inspection concerns all public educational institutions regardless of their maintainers and carried out by a committee of the appointed public education experts.
In the sense of the Public Education Act both the maintainer and the head of the public educational institution may also start a professional inspection to evaluate the quality of education and teaching at the school or the quality of work of individual teachers. In this case, the inspection is also carried out by an external expert.
All the above inspections can be performed only by teachers included in the National Register of Experts.
Requirements for appointment
The criteria of being included in the National Register of educational Experts, maintained by the Educational Authority include having a clean criminal record, holding a degree in teaching and passing a post-graduate specialist teaching examination, and having ten years of teaching experience. Since 2013 the criteria of being included in the national list of educational experts have been modified in some points. In addition to the above, being employed as a teacher or having left a teaching position less than 5 years ago are also emphasized.
In a national pedagogical and subject-specific inspection those public educational experts ranked as master teachers may participate who has an appropriate degree and qualification according to the specialisation of inspection, have acquired the professional knowledge required for the pedagogical professional inspection within a 60-hour training course organised by the Educational Authority, as well as included in the National Register of Experts maintained by the Authority in the special field of pedagogical professional inspection and teacher rating. Teachers and school heads are inspected by a team of 2 registered experts, while institutions are inspected by a team of 3-5 registered experts depending on the number of students/children and the range of tasks the institution fulfils.
Conditions of service
Inspectors enter into a service contract with the Educational Authority as natural people for carrying out national pedagogical professional inspections. Inspectors cannot be instructed to visit institutions where they themselves or one of their close relatives are employed as teachers. The inspector receives no extra remuneration for the tasks performed during the pedagogical professional inspection. As a unique solution, the remuneration of the above task is incorporated in the master teacher salary of the inspector. The inspector (participating in the pedagogical professional inspection, or in the pedagogical qualification procedure, or in the pedagogical qualification examination) shall receive a working time allowance as stated in the government decree 326/2013. (VIII.30.) on the Teacher Promotion System and on the Implementation of the Act XXXIII of 1992 on the Legal Status of Public Servants in Public Education Institutions (17/A §), and shall receive an exemption from work at least one teaching day per teaching week. In addition, the inspector is entitled to reimbursement of his/her legitimate expenses (eg travel expenses).
If for reasons attributable to him/her, the master teacher inspector does not perform the task assigned to him/her by the Educational Authority, the Educational Authority shall notify the inspector’s employer. The employer shall withdraw the classification of the master teacher inspector if he/she considers the content of the notification justified.
Due to the fact that inspectors participating in the national pedagogical professional inspection (teaching supervision) are employed as teachers themselves, all the regulations and obligations that apply to teachers who teach in any public educational institution, also apply to them. Thus, the 120 hour in-service training obligation for every 7 years and the retirement age of 65 years also apply to the inspectors.