Brussels, 23/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - An early-childhood education (or pre-school education) conference took place on 21 February in Budapest. This conference was chaired by Hungarian Minister of State for Education of the Ministry of National Resources, Rózsa Hoffmann. The conference is the first expert level meeting organised by the Hungarian Presidency in the area of teaching in which education ministers from European member states and experts from different international bodies participated.
The Excellence and Equity in Early Childhood Education and Care conference highlighted the importance of pre-school education for young children because it is an excellent way to prepare them for primary school education. The Hungarian minister emphasised that pre-school education is therefore a crucial way of learning how to read and write and obtain good school reports. Such education is especially important for disadvantaged children because they often leave school early. Participants discussed the current institutional pre-school education structures currently in force, as well as the existing funding models in member states. They also discussed teacher training and the importance of involving parents. The Hungarian Presidency will continue the work begun by the Belgian and Spanish Presidencies towards improving European cooperation in this area and preparing conclusions for adoption by the next Education Council, explained Hoffmann. Conclusions for supporting the European Commission's pre-school education action plan presented on 17 February intend to make this one of the two key objectives in the EUROPE 2020 strategy on education, namely bringing down the percentage of early school leavers in the European Union to 10% (EUROPE 10318). “In the EU, one in five 15-year-olds has reading difficulty, and one in seven in the same age group drops out of school, or leaves school for good... The Commission's aim is to provide quality care and education to every child in the EU”, declared the European Commissioner for Education Androulla Vassiliou. “Although education falls within the competence of member states, the ministers asked the Commission to assist programme coordination and encourage participation”, continued Vassiliou. She added that “the countries have realised that children will reap benefits as they become better prepared for life-long learning, and have a prospect of a better life.” According to the commissioner, investment in early childhood education also offers an economic advantage for member states and “qualified young people have better prospects of finding employment in the labour market.” (I.L./transl.fl)