Brussels, 10/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European education ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 14 February for a session of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council, chaired by Hungarian Minister of State for Education Rózsa Hoffman. This will be a mini-session, with only education on the agenda. The ministers will discuss the objectives laid down for education in the EUROPE 2020 strategy, to see whether they are on line to be achieved or, on the contrary, have proved too ambitious. As every year, the Council will also adopt a message to be sent to the spring European Council to draw its attention to the most urgent measures to be adopted for education and training. More specifically:
Contribution of the education and training sector to the new European semester: the education ministers will look at the observations made by the European Commission in the field of education and training in its annual growth examination, as part of the first European semester. The ministers will also assess the feasibility of the two main objectives laid down in the EUROPE 2020 strategy for education: bringing school drop-out rates down below 10% and ensuring that 40% of the population aged between 30 and 34 have achieved a university degree or equivalent. Today, the rate of young people dropping out of school early is 14.4% and the number of people with a university degree (or equivalent) is 32.3% (Eurostat figures from 2009).
Role of education and training in the implementation of the EUROPE 2020 strategy: the Council will adopt conclusions for the attention of the heads of state and government at the forthcoming spring Council. The member states are called upon to invest efficiently in high-quality and modernised education and training systems. They will also discuss, as a matter of urgency, the situation of young people, who have been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis, and reflect on more attractive life-long training systems. Although major progress is underway, considerable challenges remain in terms of literacy and school dropout rates. Additionally, Europe suffers from a deficit of university-educated people, at a time when the employment market is growing more demanding on this point.
A strategy for new skills and jobs: the European Commission will officially present the Council with its flagship initiative, A strategy for new skills and jobs. This initiative, like Youth in movement, will have major consequences for the education and training sectors. Readers may remember that this strategy defines four fundamental priorities to achieve an employment rate of 75% of people aged between 20 and 64 between now and 2020: improving the functioning of the employment market, increasing the qualifications of the workforce, improving high-quality of jobs and working conditions, reinforcing policies designed to favour job creation and supporting demand for labour. In this initiative, closer cooperation between education and employment sectors is also recommended. (I.L./transl.fl)