Vigaszág vagy királyi út
The Consolation Way or the Royal Way

Summary/Abstract: The study deals with adult education in higher education, which has undergone significant change since the end of the 20th century: the former compensatory, complementary role was replaced by the continuing education and retraining role. For the first time, the study provides an overview of the student population of the last 25 years of Hungarian higher education and the recent enrollment trends, examining the age structure of enrolled students, the proportion of part-time students and those with a previous degree. The analysis also covers postgraduate specialisation programmes, which, in terms of size, represents about half and one-third the number of part-time tertiary education students, but roughly the same as the number of graduate students (including master’s degree students). The postgraduate specialisation programmes is undoubtedly one of the ‘royal paths’, especially for educators and law graduates, as well as for some economics graduates, especially business graduates. The study concludes by analyzing whether and to what extent adult learning is worth it based on its internal rate of return. Overall, the study concludes that as a result of the conservative government’s reigning policy on higher education since 2010, not only the path to replacement but also the royal path has been narrowed in adult education. However, adult learning is a rewarding investment for both the individual and society, which would justify the priority treatment of adult education in education policy.

• Details
• Contents