Scholarships, fees and exam relief given to students working in epidemic control

Students in medical and health science courses have been involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic since last autumn: assigned by government offices, they were helping with testing and direct patient care or even working for the National Ambulance Service (OMSZ) as volunteers. 

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) told növekedés.hu that from October to February, more than 2,000 students took part in testing, and altogether nearly 26,000 shifts were completed by students at the ambulance service. In addition, about one thousand students carried out crisis assignments in 64 hospitals.

Senior medical, dental and nursing students were mostly involved in direct health care, while junior students and those who study health sciences or pharmacy were given testing and other assignments, similarly to students who volunteered from other higher education institutions. 

During the third wave of the epidemic, there was an even greater need to involve university students. At that time, not only medical and health sciences students, but also many young people from Corvinus University, the Technical University, ELTE and Pázmány Péter Catholic University did their share, mainly carrying out administrative tasks or, for example, working as drivers of testing teams visiting patients in their homes. 

Some 600 students were working at the ambulance service daily and the number of students assigned to hospitals and clinical centres at the end of March was approximately 650. 

According to ITM data, altogether about 10,400 students have been assigned to hospitals and the ambulance service since 8 March 2021. 

As the epidemic is subsiding, the need for student workers is not that pressing any more: in May, OMSZ only needed 250-350 students a day, and hospitals and clinics are currently employing about 80 students. 

As the director general of the National Ambulance Service said in an interview with növekedés.hu, the Red Cross volunteers and university students provided a huge help, taking a tremendous burden off the shoulder of the ambulance service. "We can't thank them enough for their contribution, which is why we decided to award the Medal for Hungarian Rescue in 2021 to the National Union of Students and the Hungarian Red Cross," he said. 

Seconded university students were paid a fee of 10,000 forints on each weekday and 15,000 at weekends and public holidays, free of tax and contributions, and also exempt from payroll tax. Students working as volunteers received a so-called public scholarship. 

Under the relevant regulations, health care providers had to provide students with meals and, if necessary, accommodation facilities, while universities had to ensure that participants would not face any disadvantage in their studies and examination obligations. 

Semmelweis University, for example, where thousands of students have participated in epidemic control since the beginning of the pandemic while carrying on with their studies, is helping students in a number of ways; by extending the exam period, providing additional examination and resit dates, or extending the thesis submission deadline.

At the University of Debrecen, where almost 1,350 students took part in some form of epidemic control, volunteer work is accepted as part of the internship in this semester. Students who are not required to complete an internship have had their contribution to epidemic control recognized in the form of elective credits.

Almost 820 of the students at the University of Szeged were doing regular volunteer work during the third wave of the epidemic, at OMSZ, vaccination centres or Covid wards. But students from BTK, ÁJTK, GTK, JGYPK, MK and TTIK also came forward to help out in response to the emergency. 

450 students of the University of Pécs contributed to epidemic control, working at vaccination sites, in PCR testing and in the subsequent laboratory examinations, in the Coronavirus Centre, as well as in intensive care units.