Educational Institutions of Hungarian Baptist Aid 

“add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and
to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness charity.”
(Second Epistle of Peter, 1:5-7)

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life”
Proverbs 13:14

Basics

In 2014, altogether 17500 students conducted their studies in the educational facilities under the management of Hungarian Baptist Aid. The number of students is no less than one percent of children involved in public education, this constitutes the same proportion as the number of those belonging to the Baptist denomination within the population.

Within the gamut of education, nearly every pedagogical fi eld represents itself among the premises of Baptist institutions: 22 institutional units operating as kindergartens, 25 a elementary schools, 14 as trade schools, 16 as vocational schools, 9 as grammar schools and 1 as basic-level aesthetic arts school and pedagogical institute make up the large family of Baptist education. We run bilingual schools in 4 settlements, providing Chinese-Hungarian education besides other options, but we also have a facility specializing in sports, there is a member institution that works in a village where the road leading there ends and even an elite grammar school and kindergartens. 6 aesthetic arts schools and 9 talent points make the development of our pupils their concern.

Achievements

The significant majority of our objectives set for the year 2013 were realized.

• We established the Baptist Pedagogical Institute, founded by the Baptist Church of Hungary and managed by Hungarian Baptist Aid.

This institute provides support in professional issues for all facilities in Baptist management. Introducing the new national basic curriculum (‘nemzeti alaptanterv’), the teaching period framework, the system of vocational training, the career model for educators (‘pedagóguséletpálya-modell’) went seamlessly.

• The subject Bible Literacy (‘Bibliaismeret’) was introduced in September, and the

Bible Literacy textbook family Életrevaló (approx. ‘Provisions for Life’) for grades 1 and 5 was published. The teachers received their credentials from the Baptist Educational Centre (‘Baptista Oktatási Központ’) with due formalities at the 4th National Baptist Educational Conference. The preparation of Bible Literacy teachers took place in the form postgraduate professional training, as a continuation of which, 44 educators commenced their studies for a Master’s Degree at the Baptist Theological Academy.

• The 30-hour preparation in the basics of Baptist educational skills for 80 school teachers and kindergarten teachers happened in two turns, and organising further

training courses is underway. The courses give fundamental help in gaining a better knowledge of the denomination and of the organisation responsible for the management.

• We established a network of school pastors, which is something nearly without

precedent in Hungary. They serve in 28 of the educational institutions run by Baptist Aid, where they participate in the faith-related and Bible literacy instruction of the children, and at the same time, they fulfi l a connecting role towards the Baptist Churches and the Baptist Union.

• We began setting up the system of institutions for consistent educational methodology

for children with special educational needs, adjusted to the new legal conditions.
We need to secure developmental education for 866 pupils.

• One-fourth of our institutions is located in socially, economically and infrastructurally

underdeveloped settlements that have an unemployment rate above the national average, so we help the children and their families in our care in close cooperation with the network of social institutions of Baptist Aid. IIn the past year, we directly distributed hundreds of food parcels, and we also donated eyeglasses, clothing articles, summer and winter shoes, furniture, food products, detergents, household utensils, wood-burning stoves, school equipment, a few toys, neck scarves, gloves, socks, footballs, a washing machine, a computer, heating fuel, medication and articles of personal hygiene, but Baptist Aid also supported the medical treatment of several sick children or parents with fi nancial donations.

We believe that every effort we make means a further step forward in realising the Baptist School slogan: “A Baptist school is more than a school.” We will endeavour to continue the professional and infrastructural development of the Baptist educational institutions.

Introduction of Baptist Education in Hungary (with subtitles)