EU support for the digitalisation of schools is not being fully used, says a report by the European Court of Auditors published on Monday 24 April. This is due to a lack of strategic vision on the part of the Member States and a weak involvement of schools in defining their needs.
A lack of strategic vision
Indeed, according to the Court, between 2014 and 2026, the EU has spent significant amounts of money to support the digitalisation of schools. Although they have been advanced under various programmes, including Cohesion Policy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and Erasmus+, the European Commission does not have complete data on the overall amount committed. However, according to the report, the RRF alone could provide more than €11 billion.
“We believe that EU financing could be better used”, said Pietro Russo, the member of the Court responsible for the audit.
For despite the money on the table, the EU’s efforts to facilitate the digital transition of schools have not had their full effect. In some cases, European funding has only been used to replace national funding that had already been allocated.
According to the auditors, the European actions would have had a greater impact if they had been better integrated into national or regional strategies for the digitalisation of schools. They regret, for example, that only a few Member States have incorporated elements of the Digital Education Action Plan (see EUROPE 12571/8) into their strategies.
Institutions lagging behind
At the same time, the auditors believe that schools have generally not made the best use of EU funds because they have not been involved in defining their digital transition needs. In addition, some institutions are not always aware of the support offered by the EU.
Furthermore, although all schools seem to have digital technology, the quantity and quality of this equipment leaves much to be desired. The same is true of their use: although schools generally offer ICT courses, less than a third of students used a digital device at school for learning purposes at least once a week.
Finally, only a limited number of institutions have a fast internet connection. This is partly due to a lack of strategic planning combined with delays in the implementation of school connectivity programmes, the report says.
The Court therefore recommends that the Commission should more actively promote EU actions on digital education, link the objectives of the Digital Education Action Plan (see EUROPE 12571/8) to EU funding and promote gigabit internet in all schools by 2025.
Last week, the Commission presented two proposals for EU Council recommendations to boost digital skills in the Union (see EUROPE 13164/11).
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/6in (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)