Debrecen4U
September 1, 2026
City-Wide School Year Opening Ceremony in Debrecen
The 2026–2027 academic year in Debrecen began with a city-wide school year opening ceremony. At the Kölcsey Centre on 31 August 2026, Mayor László Papp, László Türk, Director of the Debrecen School District Centre, and Sándor Szilágyi, Director General of the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre, welcomed the heads of the city’s educational institutions.
As László Papp noted, schools are once again filling with life, the sound of children, anticipation and plans. And perhaps there is no other Hungarian city – and certainly no other city quite as remarkable – where this has such profound significance as it does in Debrecen. Debrecen has been a city of schools and learning for centuries. The existence of the city is closely intertwined with its schools. For centuries, knowledge, culture, achievement and the strength of the community have shaped Debrecen, and today they remain among the city’s most important foundations.
A school does more than provide knowledge: it also shapes personality, instils resilience and self-confidence, creates a sense of community and offers a vision of the future. What a good teacher, a good class community and a good school build in a child will, in most cases, stay with them throughout their life. The Mayor emphasised that this is why, at the beginning of every academic year, he first and foremost wishes to pay tribute to those who carry out this work every day – those working on the front line of the education system: teachers and heads of institutions, whose work produces tangible results year after year.
Students from Debrecen once again achieved outstanding results in national and international competitions during the past academic year. Their achievements in academic subjects, science, the arts and sport are a source of pride not only for their schools, but for the whole city. “We want young people to know and feel that Debrecen can count on them. That is why we operate the Cívis Talentum scholarship programme, why we support our outstanding athletes through the Békessy Béla sports scholarship, and why we consider it important for the city to provide genuine support for talent development,” said László Papp. He added that the city wants every child to have opportunities alongside their studies to exercise, lead a healthy lifestyle and enjoy community experiences. This is also the purpose of the Move, Debrecen! school programme, because a city’s future depends not only on the knowledge we pass on to young people, but also on the kind of people we help them become.
More than 19,000 pupils and nearly 2,000 teachers are beginning the new academic year at institutions belonging to the Debrecen School District Centre. In the 11 institutions of the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre, more than 12,000 pupils and young people participating in vocational training will once again be able to study this year. During the school admissions period, students could choose from 22 sectors, 41 technical-school qualifications and 28 vocational-school trades.
At the same time, the municipality’s role as an institution maintainer is now essentially limited to kindergartens and nurseries. László Papp is convinced that Debrecen is a good maintainer of its kindergartens and genuinely does everything within its power to ensure that the children who pass through the gates of the school system each year are given the best possible foundations, enabling teachers to bring out their full potential. “Supporting education is a responsibility for us,” the Mayor stressed. One tangible example of this is the significant amount the city has allocated in recent years, from the resources available to it, to renovating schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions in Debrecen.
While the city is proud of its traditions, it also knows that schools can only prepare children for life if they themselves look towards the future. That is why it is also important in Debrecen to provide genuine opportunities for progression and development from primary school through secondary school and vocational education all the way to university. This is one of Debrecen’s greatest competitive advantages. One of the country’s largest education systems operates in Debrecen, with institutions ranging from nurseries and kindergartens to the university. Almost anything can be studied in this city, and the local government is working to ensure that this knowledge can also be put to use here, in Debrecen, making the city an even better place.
This does not, of course, mean that our opportunities are unlimited. There is a burden that we simply cannot shake off. This year, Debrecen will pay HUF 12 billion from its own tax revenues into the central government budget. Yet these resources should be put to use here, in Debrecen, Papp László emphasised.
“We continue to believe that Debrecen’s economic strength should be used to build the prosperity and wellbeing of the city. To ensure that we have modern institutions, opportunities to support talented young people, sporting facilities and, above all, an education system capable of retaining its own talent and bringing talented people back home. Debrecen really has been a city of schools and learning for centuries. Our task is to ensure that this is not merely part of our past, but that education remains one of the city’s greatest strengths for centuries to come,” Papp László stressed. He wished all students, teachers, parents and the entire Debrecen educational community a successful, productive and rewarding 2026–2027 academic year.
László Türk, Director of the Debrecen School District Centre, compared the start of the academic year to a nursery rhyme or children’s game in which every participant knows what will happen from 1 September, what is coming and what awaits them, yet still looks forward to the next moment with excitement. Perhaps that is precisely why the game is so enjoyable: there is a little magic in it. Children and families knock on the doors of kindergartens and schools. The teachers stand behind those doors, waiting for the knock. They wait with curiosity to see who is knocking. What will the class be like? What will the first day be like? Everyone is a little nervous: the child, the parent, the nursery teacher, the primary school teacher, the secondary school teacher and the headteacher. In Debrecen, countless doors open before children and families – doors through which they are welcomed with confidence and trust. The doors of kindergartens, primary schools, grammar schools, secondary schools and the university open to them.
More than 1,200 young children are entering the primary schools of the Debrecen School District Centre for the very first time. Almost 1,000 students are now moving on to secondary school. For them, this is a new beginning, and perhaps because of them every September feels a little like the first September all over again. Teachers work towards the same goal: to ensure that when a child knocks on yet another door, they have the courage to walk through it.
“A great deal is changing around us, including this academic year, but those we work for remain the same: children,” said László Türk. Debrecen is a city of schools and learning, and this is not merely a source of pride, but a huge and serious responsibility. A new academic year brings new opportunities and always provides fresh momentum.
According to Sándor Szilágyi, Director General of the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre, education and the future of children and young people are a shared responsibility. Perhaps this is one of the most important messages of today’s gathering. A new academic year is always a new chapter, bringing new hopes, goals, challenges and opportunities, while the world around us is changing faster than ever. It is becoming increasingly important to have things we can rely on. Knowledge, human relationships, community and love are such anchors. We may have state-of-the-art training workshops, digital tools, artificial intelligence and modern technology, but these alone are not enough. Technology is a tool, knowledge is a source of strength, but it is people who give meaning to it all. That is why we must not only pass on knowledge, but also nurture young people who know how to ask questions, dare to think, can adapt and work together. Above all, we must help raise people who understand that success is not only about how far we can go on our own, but also about whom we help move forward alongside us.
Sándor Szilágyi compared education to a bridge: a bridge between children and adults, the past and the future, school and the economy, theory and practice, and the family, school, city and community. A bridge is strong when both banks of the river support it. This is why cooperation is so important, and Debrecen is known for the strength of its cooperation. The Director General quoted a thought by Sámuel Brassai, the polymath, educator and scholar: “little, well and slowly”. At first hearing, this may sound strange in today’s world, where everything is fast, technology and the economy are changing rapidly, and artificial intelligence is setting an entirely new pace. But this is precisely why Sámuel Brassai’s words remain relevant. They do not tell us not to move forward. They tell us to learn how to move forward well. Knowledge takes time, skills require practice, talent needs nurturing, and personality needs love. We need to “hurry slowly” at the beginning so that we can accelerate with confidence later on. Today, when we can access vast amounts of information within seconds, it is perhaps more important than ever to remember that information is not the same as knowledge. Knowledge is understanding what we have learnt. Wisdom is knowing what to do with it. Teachers and educators must not only teach, but also believe in the young people entrusted to them – often believing in them before they are able to believe in themselves.
The Director General emphasised: “Where education is outstanding, the future is being built. Where there is cooperation, strength is born. Where there is love, community is born. For me, Debrecen is that city.”
As has now become traditional, the city-wide school year opening ceremony also provided an opportunity to present certificates commemorating current appointments to institutional leadership positions. Eleven dedicated professionals have now been appointed to lead Debrecen’s educational institutions.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
