At their plenary session on Thursday 8 February, MEPs debated oral questions tabled by Jana Toom (Renew Europe, Estonia) on behalf of the Committee on Petitions regarding teachers’ working conditions in the EU. Ms Toom opened the discussion by highlighting the ageing of the profession, recruitment difficulties and precarious working conditions.
Questions included an assessment of current working conditions, the impact on the quality of education, the European Commission’s strategies for raising the prestige of the profession and measures to ensure compliance with the directives on transparent working conditions.
The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, acknowledged the shortage of teachers and poor performance of pupils according to the PISA report. She pledged to support the Member States, mentioning initiatives such as discussion forums, the use of European funds, the Erasmus+ programme, the creation of 25 teacher academies and awards for innovation in teaching.
During the debate, several MEPs, such as Marisa Matias (The Left, Portuguese), highlighted the “deplorable” conditions and low pay. Similarly, Cristina Maestre Martín de Almagro (S&D, Spanish) spoke of precarious contracts and the stress associated with administrative tasks, particularly for young teachers. Jarosław Duda (EPP, Polish) and François Thiollet (Greens/EFA, French), drawing on their experience as teachers, respectively stressed the need to respect the profession and the need for European cooperation on education.
Vlad Gheorghe (Renew Europe, Romanian) stressed the importance of professionalism in the fight against disinformation, while Cristian Terheş (ECR, Romanian) called for a return to traditional values.
In conclusion, Ms Ivanova reiterated the Commission’s commitment, recalling the investment of €73 billion in education under the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’, and over €43 billion via the European Social Fund Plus.
Oral questions: https://aeur.eu/f/asi (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)