The European Parliament condemns the shortcomings of the European response in the field of education. In a resolution adopted on Wednesday 21 October, MEPs say that “better cooperation and coordination between Member States and a more ambitious EU education and training policy would have improved the effectiveness of the response to the crisis“.
This resolution follows an exchange with the Presidency of the EU Council and the European Commission earlier this week on the lessons to be learned from the crisis.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said: “Member States have managed to move quickly to e-learning, but it is clear that there is still room for improvement”. She had pointed to the challenges in terms of equity and quality inherent in the transition to distance learning, the lack of digital skills and infrastructure gaps.
Promote face-to-face learning
In the resolution drafted by Sabine Verheyen (EPP, Germany) on behalf of the Committee on Culture and Education, the Parliament expresses concern about the closure of schools during the pandemic - which affected 94% of the world's learners at the height of the crisis and 60% even now.
Claiming that this period is potentially “the most severe disruption to the world’s education and training systems in history”, the Parliament stresses that direct interaction between teachers and learners is irreplaceable and that only face-to-face teaching can guarantee the effective acquisition of interpersonal and social skills.
In this context, the resolution calls on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate closely in order to minimise health risks to staff and learners and to maximise the chances of being able to continue with face-to-face education. It adds that in the event of further lockdown, educational institutions “ must be equipped to provide quality digital learning for all learners and address the issue of mental health and well-being in cooperation with parents and other relevant stakeholders”.
The amendment by the ID Group to introduce a reference to the attack in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine was rejected.
Parliament opposes budget cuts
The resolution also deplores the cuts proposed by the EU Council in the EU budget for the next seven years. “We reiterate our call for the Erasmus+ budget to be tripled, while actively encouraging Member States to substantially increase public spending on education and the Commission to prioritise education and training in the Recovery Plan - some of us even call for a 10% allocation”, summarised Victor Negrescu (S&D, Romania) in the debate.
For his part, the German Minister for European Affairs, Michael Roth, pointed out that the EU Council is expected to adopt conclusions on digital literacy on 30 November.
See the text of the resolution: https://bit.ly/34jvVni (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)