After a day dedicated to youth (see EUROPE 13252/24), the EU education ministers concluded their informal meeting in Zaragoza on Tuesday 19 September. On the agenda: improving the inclusiveness of European universities and promoting European values in education.
Inclusion at university
Although European universities are more accessible than those in other parts of the world, not least because of the cost of studying at public institutions, they are struggling to fulfil their role of social ladder, according to the Spanish Minister for Higher Education, Joan Subirats. He notes that more students from less advantaged backgrounds drop out of courses.
“What we would like to achieve is that a maximum number of people can have access to high-quality higher education in Europe”, he declared, assuring that this did not mean compromising on the quality of studies.
The ministers therefore discussed the reasons behind these early dropouts and ways of remedying the situation. Among other things, they discussed the possibility of introducing personalised psychological support for students, ensuring the inclusion of refugees from Ukraine in higher education systems and setting up mentoring programmes.
Mr Subirats also called for the promotion of lifelong learning, in particular by developing the system of micro-credits and recognition of professional experience.
Finally, the Spanish minister and European Commission Vice-President Margarítis Schinás stressed the importance of developing the university alliances (see EUROPE 13214/26). “We hope that we can prepare a proposal for a European Degree before the elections, which would reflect our desire to make Europe a destination for higher education”, added Mr Schinás.
Promoting European values in education
The ministers also discussed ways of ensuring that education is a vehicle for transmitting European values, against a backdrop of successive crises, disinformation and political extremism. “Europe needs to remain a lighthouse in this uncertain world”, said Mr Schinás.
For Pilar Alegría, Spain’s Minister of Education, the role of schools in civic education must be a priority, both within the European Education Area (EEA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
The ministers will meet in Brussels on 23 and 24 November for a formal ‘Education, Youth, Culture and Sport’ meeting. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)