In 2022–23, Hungary witnessed the largest wave of protests since the fall of communism in 1990. Teachers, students and parents rallied to demand better school conditions and reforms within the educational system. In this study, I analyse the outcomes of these protests using data from the Hungarian Protest Event Database (HuPED) and 47 online news portals. I empirically examine the changes in the number of education-related protests and assess how demonstrations and strikes have influenced media discourse on the issue of education and the protesters’ demands. The results show that the protesters were clearly successful in mobilising the masses and shaping public discourse, but they were unable to achieve significant policy changes. In the second part of the paper, I explain the failure of the protests by the authorities’ protest and dissent management techniques applied against the movement.