Those ethnic Hungarian children forced by their parents to attend Slovak-language schools face serious neurological and psychological damage, revealed Dr. István Bajnok, child-neuropathologist, in a Hungarian-language Új Szó interview. Bajnok stated that each year, almost a third of ethnic Hungarian children starting school are sent by their parents to Slovak-language educational institutions in the hope that by graduating from these schools they will have a better chances of succeeding in life. According to Bajnok, the latest scientific results show that there is no proof of the above assertion, on the contrary, people learning in their native language accumulate knowledge easier than those studying in a foreign one. Until recent years, Hungarian parents who had sent their children to Slovak-language schools reasoned that knowledge of the state’s official language is a prerequisite for success, but now, when Slovakia is among the front runners for European integration, real, factual knowledge, and not proficiency in Slovak, will be the basis of a successful career, argues Bajnok. [ Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony) January 26, 2002]

The results of the May 25, 2001 Slovak census data [ see report of October 30, 2001] for the village of Lesenice/Leszenye in the district of Velky Krtis/Nagykürtös surprised the local population and Slovak public opinion: the percentage of ethnic Hungarians rose from 17.8 percent in the 1991 census to 41.2 percent this year. This unexpected development—unique to the whole country—also means that the village has met the threshold for bilingual place name signs under Law 191/1994. Mayor József Bakos told the Hungarian-language daily Új Szó that the Velky Krtis/Nagykürtös district road maintenance public company is responsible for placing the signs. Company vice president János Kőrös said the only problem is that the village’s name doesn’t appear in the appendix of the 191/1994 law on bilingual signs, which list the official names of places in minority languages. The so-called “place name law” will be effective in this village, and other similar cases where the percentage of a given minority has risen above the required 20 percent since the last census, only after the Slovak Parliament amends the appendix of the law. [ Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony) July 13 and 21, 1994 and January 21, 2002]

The Slovak government decided to transfer the 10 million Slovak Korunas ($215,100) allocated in 2001 for the establishment of an independent Hungarian-language faculty at the Konstantin University in Nitra/Nyitra to the new year, confirmed László Szigeti, deputy Education Minister. The government allocated the funds a year ago [ see report of January 24, 2001] after adopting a resolution recommending that the leadership of the university set up the new faculty. The University’s Senate has, however, continuously disregarded this measure for the past year. Presently, the future name of the faculty is under dispute, as another delay tactic. The latest target date for a decision on the new faculty’s creation is the end of February, when the university’s Senate meets. [ Új Szó (Bratislava/Pozsony) January 3, 2002]