Doc. ThDr. Alfred Somogyi, the Dean of Selye János University, spoke about how the concept of a family-friendly university has long played an important role for them. He emphasizes that family and studies can be reconciled, and their institution supports family students in every possible way, including maternal scholarships and flexible exam periods.
Do you think it is important for young people to be able to start a family alongside their higher education studies, and if so, why?
I believe that the world where young people first earn a degree and then start a family has already passed. Family establishment and childbearing have been pushed back, and it is becoming increasingly rare for a family’s first child to be born between the ages of 20 and 25. I think it is important for young people to be able to start a family under orderly family circumstances, in marriage. Being a university or college student should not be an obstacle to this. I would reverse the order perceived in the question: it is not essential for them to be able to start a family alongside their higher education studies, but rather that they can study alongside a family. After all, family is more important!
What does your institution do to support family students, whether at admission, during studies, or after graduation?
The Selye János University in Komárom is considered a family-friendly university. Everyone has an equal opportunity at admission, and after obtaining a degree, there are not many opportunities to support students with children. However, during their studies, they have the opportunity and right to maternal scholarships for mothers raising young children. In other words, they receive the same social benefits as those mothers who entered maternity leave from employment. This is guaranteed by law in Slovakia. Our university provides all possible support to students with young children within the frameworks of higher education law and academic regulations. Currently, we have at least ten students on our faculty who are raising two or three children. Our instructors also take this into account, and without compromising the requirements or performance, we help our family students. In practice, this means we are definitely more flexible with exam deadlines and submission deadlines.
Do you plan to expand on the above, and if so, what guidelines do you expect from the NOE research for this?
We are open to every opportunity, tool, and solution that helps our students—in this case, our family students—to learn effectively. It would be great to completely eliminate the situation where a young mother has to choose between studying and raising or having children. The new opportunities uncovered by the NOE research—supportive constructs—will certainly be incorporated into our practice.
Why do you think the timing of family establishment is increasingly delayed for young people?
Unfortunately, I can only respond to this question as an elder. In our time, we perhaps matured and became adults earlier. I myself got married at 22 and moved out of my parents’ house to start a family with my wife. I do not experience this the same way with my now adult children. Today’s twenty-something generation may be a bit more comfortable, a bit more childish, and a bit more into partying than we were. And these are just the psychological perceived or real reasons. We have not yet considered the reasons found in the realm of mental, existential, or responsible adult behavior. Therefore, my answer is rather subjective and may not be entirely accurate.
What extracurricular programs or support could encourage family establishment, in your opinion?
For me, this is a difficult question, as I am neither a social expert nor a family politician. As a theologian, I can say that adherence to Christian morals and norms would certainly improve our current conditions. A shift in perspective would also help, where we do not always keep our own interests, needs, and desires in mind, as family establishment and childbearing is an important commitment and—at some level—a renunciation, but a pleasant renunciation. This should somehow be instilled in the hearts of the rising generations.
