This seems a fair enough move to me. Not necessarily the specific decision – although that’s joyous of course – but the underlying principle. If the State funds teaching and research then the State gets to decide which subjects are taught and researched. We don’t have programs looking into the milk based cheesiness of the Moon. You don’t have a claim on the tax paid by others if you wish to study Klingon. And rightly so.
But do note that Orban hasn’t banned the subjects, that’s not something that a government should rightly do:
HUNGARY’S LEADER ORBAN BANS GENDER STUDIES IN ALL UNIVERSITIES BECAUSE IT’S ‘NOT A SCIENCE’
Well, no, it’s not, but then nor is English Literature. But he’s also not banned it:
Hungary’s populist government has banned gender studies degrees citing low enrollment numbers that waste taxpayer money and because it is “an ideology not a science.”
Grievance studies is indeed an ideology but they’ve still not banned it.
Hungary to stop financing gender studies courses: PM aide
Yes, that they have done:
Hungary has ended funding for gender studies degrees at its universities, citing low enrollment and saying the field of study is an “ideology, not a science.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a decree that went into effect Saturday, effectively eliminating the degree program, according to Reuters.
The effectively is because no one at all is stupid enough to pay their own money to pursue this line of study. And the thing is, shouldn’t the government which raises the taxes from the populace be able to insist upon how the money is spent?
Or doesn’t that apply to grievance studies?
Of course it doesn’t apply to grievance studies – because part of the grievance is that the government isn’t doing enough to redress what you think is wrong, so if the government does not fund it grievances, like libel suits, become the exclusive property of the rich and the government is given freer rein to oppress its opponents – as in Venezuela.
Gender studies, on the other hand, should be taught in nursery school, not universities.