The Student Loan system was established in 2001 by the Government of the Republic of Hungary.
Extract from government decree no. 119/2001. (VI. 30.) on the Student Loan scheme
“The student loan system is designed to provide every young adult the opportunity to participate in higher education regardless of their own financial resources or those of their families, and to support the Government in creating and maintaining suitable conditions in the long term for a sustainable, generally accessible, high-quality higher education system with a view to improving the Hungarian economy. In order to meet these goals and maintain the system in the long term in a safe and cost-efficient manner, and due to the scale as well as the social, economic and budgetary implications of the Student Loan system, the Government is willing to establish and operate the Student loan system – including activities relating to fundraising, loan application, disbursement and repayment – with the involvement of the authorities and state-owned institutions concerned, and through facilitating close cooperation between these organisations and the Student Loan Centre."
The founders of the Student Loan scheme established the following requirements:
- The loan should be universal, i.e. available for everyone with the same conditions.
- The maximum amount of the loan should be enough to provide a significant contribution to the sustenance and study-related expenses of university and college students.
- In order to ensure repayment discipline, affordable monthly repayment amounts and an efficient collection mechanism should be established.
- The Student Loan system should be self-sustaining and self-financing in the long term, instead of putting a direct financial burden on the budget.
