The Deputy Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and Ombudsperson for the Rights of National Minorities in Hungary, Dr. Erzsébet Szalayné Sándor, has confirmed systemic violations of the rights of Romani children in the Bűdi district of Tiszavasvári, Hungary, where Romani children are forced to walk up to 7 kilometres daily, often in harsh weather, to attend school due to the complete lack of transportation.
Her recently published report highlights the disproportionate burdens faced by Romani students due to the complete lack of public transport or school bus services to access inclusive education. She called the situation discriminatory and unjust and stated that it is prohibited to make unjustified and unreasonable distinctions between people.
“It is unacceptable that in 2025 Romani children in Hungary are still being denied their most fundamental right – equal access to quality education. This ongoing systemic neglect hinders their future and constitutes a clear violation of Hungary’s human rights obligations,” said Vivien Brassói, Legal Director at the European Roma Rights Centre.
The Ombudsperson’s recommends that the State Secretary for Social Opportunities and Roma Relations within the Ministry of Interior urgently assemble a professional consultation to address the transport barriers affecting Romani children in Bűd. Participants should include the State Secretariat for Public Education, the Ministry of Construction and Transport, the Klebelsberg Center, the Mayor of Tiszavasvári, and the President of the Tiszavasvári Romani Minority Municipality. In addition, the State Secretary for Public Education should conduct a nationwide assessment of how many children have the same barriers accessing education and must walk between their homes and their assigned school due to a lack of access to local public bus service or poorly organized transportation.
The recommendations also include amending Hungary’s Public Education Act to define the specific distance between a child’s residence and the educational institution, which, if exceeded, obligates authorities to provide transportation. The law should also clearly identify which bodies are responsible for ensuring this transportation.
The Ombudsperson’s report was triggered by a 2024 complaint from the Hátrányos Helyzetű Családok Országos Egyesülete in collaboration with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), highlighting the daily hardship endured by children from the segregated Bűdi district, who must walk the nearly seven kilometres to attend the inclusive Kabay János Primary School in the city centre. Earlier in the 2000s, the Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF) initiated legal action against Tiszavasvári Municipality for illegal school segregation, and although the school was closed in 2012, the failure to provide transport hindered equal access to inclusive education for Roma in the nearby area.
While the Ombudsperson’s report provides strong recommendations, they are non-binding, meaning authorities are not legally obliged to act on them. Moreover, the risk of segregation remains high as the newly elected mayor and city council proposed handing over the administration of the school to the Reformed Church in a recent televised meeting.
This press release is also available in Hungarian.
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