In Hungary, pre-school education takes place in kindergartens under the supervision of preschool teachers, who are assisted by qualified support staff (carers or nannies). Preschool kindergarten education is compulsory and provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is also compulsory until the age of sixteen.

Children are allocated to kindergartens based on the district where they live in Debrecen. To find out which municipal kindergarten belongs to your district, visit the official website of the city of Debrecen. In addition to municipal kindergarten, there are a wide range of kindergartens (óvoda) maintained by churches, public institutions, or various foundations.

Application form to enter pre-school (kindergarten) education is downloadable here (only available in Hungarian) or can be requested from kindergartens maintained by the City Council.

To complete kindergarten registration, both the child’s and parent’s identification documents (ID card and residence card) have to be shown.

The application deadline to enter kindergarten is generally in February and/or March.

Attendance at public kindergartens is free of charge.

Most institutions organise open days to provide parents and children with the opportunity to view the facility, and to learn more about the various programmes the institution has to offer.