Benchmark Study 1

IPP BENCHMARK REPORT
V. 1.0
activities, availability of teaching/learning material, the standard of school infrastructure, sports facilities,
etc.), the picture is completely different. As a rule, standard is lower in smaller settlements.
In the 1990s, simultaneously with changes at a national and global level, secondary level education
also underwent a fundamental structural transformation in Észak-Alföld Region. As the number and
proportion of students at trade schools fell significantly, the other two types of secondary education
(grammar school and secondary modern school) grew in importance. As a result, the number of
students at secondary modern schools (former trade schools), vocational schools and grammar schools
standing at 76,464 in the academic year 1990/1991 rose, according to preliminary data to 89,499 in 399
institutions of secondary education in the academic year 2005/2006. As a result of the above
referenced processes, the Region now faces a shortage of skilled workers, which may hinder the
development of both processing and construction industry.
Institutions of higher education have a long-standing tradition in the region, with specialised
institutions among them. Debrecen is a major and dynamically developing university centre of not only
the Region, but also the country. University level education is available only in Debrecen, while collegelevel
education is available in Nyíregyháza, Szolnok, Hajdúböszörmény, Jászberény and Mezőtúr. In
2009 370.000 students were participating in higher education.
Észak-Alföld Region is a region with the youngest age composition in Hungary: the ageing index
was the lowest in both 2001 and 2005. Within the Region Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County is in the
most favourable situation, as its ageing index was below 1 even in 2005, which is ascribable to the high
proportion of the Roma population. However, in the coming period, similar to the national trend, ageing
is expected to accelerate, which, in turn, will lead to an increase in those in need of care. In 2009, the
ageing index was 109,9. Despite a mortality ratio that is below the national average, the population’s
state of health is far from being good. An analysis of the individual age groups shows that, except for
the age group of 0-9, regional data are worse than national figures in all the other age groups. In
addition, despite some improvement over the past years, in respect of life expectancy at birth, the
Region ranked penultimate among the regions for both men (69,8 yrs, 2008) and women (77,8 yrs,
2008).
Unfavourable health data are likely to be related to the fact that the standard of health care is not
satisfactory, and that the distribution of and load on healthcare are uneven. The development of the
institutional system cannot catch up with the number of those in need of care. Although in terms of the
availability of pharmacies (318 pharmacies in 2007) and ambulance, Észak-Alföld Region ranks 2nd-3rd
(as regards the former, it should be noted that there are no pharmacies open for the public in 130
settlements of the Region). It ranks last among the regions in the country in respect of the provision of
GP and penultimate in respect of the mean indicators of hospital beds. A further problem is the absence
Page 33
www.i-p-p.eu