Brussels, 17/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Education and future prospects are greatly influenced by where one lives in Europe, according to a new report by the European Commission published on Friday 14 September. This document, entitled “Mind the Gap - education inequality across EU regions”, stresses the major differences in training opportunities between member states, but also within them.
Levels of training appear to vary considerably between the North and the South, with the regions of southern Europe representing the highest rates of low-qualified people (having simply completed the first cycle of secondary education). Conversely, the regions with the lowest rates of low-qualified people are mainly to be found in northern Europe.
Geographic inequalities in education matters therefore persist, despite the commitments made by the member states to promote fairness in education and training systems. As a result, the report calls on the countries of the European Union to step up their efforts to reduce these inequalities. “All European citizens should benefit from high-quality education and training - irrespective of where they live. Tackling geographic inequality in education is a prerequisite for balanced regional development and social cohesion. The European structural funds can and should be used to help address inequalities”, said Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
This report, the first of its kind, reveals that the regions with the highest percentage of higher education graduates (holding a bachelors degree, a masters degree or an equivalent diploma) are mainly to be found in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, northern Spain and Cyprus, whilst the regions with the lowest percentages are in Italy, Portugal, Romania and the Czech Republic. Major regional disparities were also highlighted regarding the participation of adults in life-long learning. In conclusion, the report makes the following comments: 1) regional disparities in learning hinder balanced regional development and economic growth; 2) they compound inequality between EU regions and encourage brain-drain towards the more developed regions; 3) the nature, scale and effects of educational inequalities vary considerably across EU regions and policy solutions must be tailored rather than generic; 4) effective use of the European structural funds can help redress regional disparities in education and their effects; 5) more systematic collection of data at sub-regional level is necessary to improve the knowledge base and to inform policy-makers on this topic.
In November, the Commission will adopt the “Rethinking Skills” strategy, which will stress the need to remedy geographic disparities in education. In 2013, it will present further findings and strategic advice to the member states on ways to improve fairness in the education and training systems. A second report on geographical inequality in education in the EU is also scheduled for 2013. (IL/transl.fl)