Protest in Hungary after principal fired over 'smartphone ban'

Budapest: Thousands demonstrated in central Budapest on Monday after the head of a renowned high school was sacked for not implementing a government m...

Budapest: Thousands demonstrated in central Budapest on Monday after the head of a renowned high school was sacked for not implementing a government-mandated "smartphone ban".

A decree, adopted in August, requires schools to collect students' phones and smart devices at the start of the day.

The move has reignited simmering tensions between nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power continuously since 2010, and teachers, who have protested over poor working conditions in the past two years.

On the first day of the school year, thousands packed the square at the headquarters of the Interior Ministry, which has supervised public education since 2022.

"I found it outrageous that the measures were taken without prior consultation overnight," Katalin Elteto, a 71-year-old retired teacher told AFP.