“Better cooperation and mobility between schools across Europe, acting as a catalyst to improve the learning and teaching of basic skills”... Just over a week after the European Commission launched the Union of Skills (see EUROPE 13593/18), European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Christophe Hansen outlined the aims of the future ‘European Schools Alliance’ to MEPs at the end of the week’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday 13 March.
The aim is to complete the European education area by strengthening innovation, mobility and inclusiveness. This “Alliance” should strengthen cooperation between schools and promote innovative exchanges.
“A third of 15-year-olds have difficulties with mathematics, a quarter with reading comprehension, and 43% of fourth-grade pupils do not have basic digital skills”, said Mr Hansen, whose worrying findings are the driving force behind the Commission’s ambitions.
The latter plans to launch the first European school alliances in 2026 with the support of the Erasmus+ programme.
“They will test innovative teaching methods, curricula and skills frameworks, including in collaboration with local authorities”, explained the European commissioner regarding the initiative which, in addition to improving the quality of education within Member States, aims to improve mutual recognition of training courses.
During the debate, Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatian) welcomed the potential of the “Alliance”.
However, he urged caution. “The EU must respect the principle of subsidiarity. The harmonisation of school curricula must not encroach on national competences”, he said.
With regard to social issues, Sabrina Repp (S&D, German) insisted on the need for the programme’s inclusivity. “The Erasmus+ programme shouldn’t be reserved for those whose parents can afford it. We need to provide more funding for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds”.
Similarly, Hristo Petrov (Renew Europe, Bulgarian) called for a wider opening to non-academic disciplines, such as “the arts, sport and language learning”.
However, other elected representatives on the right of the Chamber criticized the potential for excessive centralisation. Marc Jongen (ESN, German) denounced an initiative that “increases bureaucracy and threatens national educational diversity”.
Some MEPs have proposed concrete solutions. Giusi Princi (EPP, Italian) called for “the automatic recognition of diplomas to be extended to secondary schools to encourage genuine student mobility”.
Victor Negrescu (S&D, Romanian) called for an “Erasmus 2.0” that would become a true pillar of European education, with a strong focus on the quality of teaching and the mutual recognition of diplomas.
Christophe Hansen stressed that the project was still in its early stages and that discussions would enrich the pilot phase.
“The success of the European Schools Alliance will depend on the next Erasmus+ programme and, of course, the future Multiannual Financial Framework. This is why we believe it is essential to prioritise investment in people, students and their skills”, he said. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)