Brussels, 27/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - With the aim of influencing the communication on modernising higher education which the European Commission will publish in the autumn, the European Students' Union (ESU) has published a number of statements calling on the Commission to target objectives which are more specific and more relevant to the situation. On 27 April, the national unions of students in Europe handed in to their respective Education Ministries a joint statement in which they set out their recommendations with regard to the communication. These recommendations have also been sent to the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission.
The agenda the Commission which will publish will set general guidelines for the reform of European higher education over the next decade. The Commission is expected to make concrete proposals on student loans and more finding for student mobility to reach the benchmark of 20% of European students studying abroad by 2020. The ESU is particularly critical of setting up a pan-European student loans scheme, taking the view that this would discourage students from lower socio-economic backgrounds from studying abroad. The communication must refocus on the challenges that will be faced by higher education in the next decades. Action at European level must not be aimed at a fraction of the universities, but address all kinds of higher education, the ESU says. Considering only the positives of involvement of the private sector in the governance of higher education institutions would be a mistake, according to the ESU, as it could accentuate social inequality and be in conflict with the agreed initiatives of the Bologna Process.
Among its recommendations for the Commission, the ESU suggests: 1) placing the emphasis on the social dimension of higher education by increasing access while not compromising the quality of the education; 2) encouraging public investment and encouraging member states to meet the minimum target of investment of 2% of their GDP in higher education (Bologna objective); 3) implementing the reforms needed to create a lifelong learning system built on flexible learning paths; 4) new and innovative approaches to teaching and learning; 5) encouraging teachers to invest their time in teaching innovation, and, to this end, putting in place systems which reward teaching excellence; 6) involving all players in decision-making in higher education, safeguarding the principle of academic freedom within governance structures; 7) supporting full implementation of student mobility instruments; 8) against a backdrop of internationalisation, ensuring that student mobility does not lead to imbalances within certain countries. (I.L./transl.rt)