Brussels, 16/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - “A modern and strong Europe goes hand-in-hand with modern and strong universities, this could characterise today's debate”, said European Commissioner Jan Figel, at the press conference closing Thursday's “Education” Council. In the afternoon, the ministers held an in-depth discussion on the modernisation of European universities as a means of boosting the competitiveness of the universities within the framework of globalisation and the new challenges facing them. Broadly, the Member States approved the draft resolution of the Portuguese Presidency, which recommends a reform of the universities, moving towards quality teaching and more autonomy, together with the creation of networks, in order to draw the greatest possible benefit from pan-European cooperation. “The universities are a key element for the economic and social development of Europe”, said the Portuguese minister for science, technology and higher education, Mariano Gago, who stressed the urgent need for the reforms to be brought in. He welcomed the reforms which have already been carried out or which are to be introduced in most of the Member States, in order to transform the universities into centres of excellence. “I am concerned by mobility and the lack of dialogue between universities and business”, noted Jan Figel, who pledged to work on these two challenges in the coming months. However, he welcomed the importance granted by the Member States to reforms to be undertaken in the higher education sector, as part of the nine recommendations made by the Commission targeting changes in three sectors: programmes, governance and funding. The Commission also took note of the willingness of the Member States to evolve towards greater quality: “we are working on it”, he stressed, quoting the instruments already in place, such as quality assurance and a European agency for quality in education.
The mobility of students from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds was also at the centre of the debate on Thursday afternoon, with an exchange of views on the subject of “widening the social dimension of Erasmus”. “There is an image of Erasmus students as coming from the upper middle classes”, stressed Minister Gago. He welcomed the national responses which have already been made regarding this problem, by dint of social incentives for the less privileged students, but agreed with his colleagues that the way in which Erasmus bursaries are distributed must be rethought. Under the current scheme, large countries have a higher budget, even if the number of students is lower than that of the smaller countries. “This is an absurd situation, which is harmful to less fortunate students”, stressed the Portuguese Presidency. It is not an elitist programme, stressed Jan Figel, who nonetheless acknowledged that many students are put off from taking part in it for financial reasons. Stating that the Commission had called for a larger budget than the one finally allocated for the second generation of Erasmus, Mr Figel said that the Commission's objective was to increase the most modest grants, and recommends that bursaries be transferable, in order to increase student mobility. (I.L.)