European education ministers discussed the impact of Covid-19 on learning in Europe during an informal videoconference meeting on Monday 18 May. The discussion was held in camera, but the Croatian education minister seemed relatively optimistic about the current situation.
This is the third time that the EU27 have met in this format since the beginning of the pandemic (see EUROPE 12445/4 and 12466/10). “The first time, schools were still open. The second time, schools were closed in the majority of Member States. This time, for the third meeting, Member States were moving towards reopening schools,”, said Blaženka Divjak, the Croatian minister for education and science
The majority of Member States (22) are moving towards a gradual reopening and a gradual return to actual physical lessons, starting with specific target groups. Twenty Member States have already organised or are going to organise end-of-year examinations, although the majority have made some adjustments (reducing the number of examinations or simplifying procedures). Some, on the other hand, have chosen to postpone or cancel the assessments.
So far, in the opinion of the Croatian minister, re-opening schools seems to be going quite well. “So far, from what we have learnt from ministers, there haven’t been any significant increases in contamination or negative impacts of reopening. But it is still too early to draw final conclusions”, said Divjak.
The ministerial discussion, which lasted for four hours, should feed into the conclusions that the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU is developing on the themes of ‘Teachers and trainers of the future’ and ‘The response to the Covid crisis in education and training’.
A final meeting of education ministers is expected to be held under the Croatian presidency in June, before Germany takes over the presidency. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)