Brussels, 09/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European University Association (EUA), European Students Union (ESU) and the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) have sharply criticised the project for new skills planned by the new commissioner for education and training.
In the projects from the Junker Commission organigram leaked to the press, the English term “education” has been replaced by “skills”, a term that is clearly much more limited, according to the EUA and ESU. The EUA pointed out that, “in times of economic and also geopolitical crisis, Europe will more than ever have to rely not only on skills, but also on education, in order to build a strong knowledge society”. The EUA denounced the “lack of ambition” and reminded the European Commission that it had placed education at the centre of its EUROPE 2020 strategy. The ESU is also “outraged” by the fact that this proposal does not correspond to the vision students have for education and indicated that “students consider education to be much more than simply training or skills”. Education also involves personal development and active citizenship. The president of the ESU, Elizabeth Gehrke, stressed that “this is a terrible mistake that does not recognise the multifaceted role of education”. European student unions have backed the ESU position and added that, if the proposal were maintained, “education will become a side product seen through the lens of skills, when it should be considered as a vital instrument in creating a better future for Europe”. (IL)