WRITTEN QUESTION E-0925/96 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (23 April 1996)

Subject: Implementation of the operational programme on education and initial vocational training (second Community support programme)

The operational programme on education and initial vocational training comprises projects with a total value of ECU 1847.6 m relating to the sub-programmes:

- General and technical education;

- Initial vocational training and education;

- Higher education; and

- Organizational and administrative modernization of education.

Given that appropriations have been scheduled for these sub-programmes since 1994, will the Commission say:

1. What the take-up rate is for the individual sub-programmes for 1994 and 1995;

2. Whether there have been any delays in take-up and, if so, what the main reasons are for this in regard to the individual sub-programmes?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (28 June 1996)

1. The expenditure (Community participation) declared by the Greek authorities for 1994 in regard to the programme mentioned is as follows (breakdown by sub-programme):

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i.e. a total of: ESF 70.8 MECUs and ERDF 18 MECUs out of a planned annual tranche of 159.8 MECUs from the ESF and 30.3 MECUs from the ERDF for 1994. On the basis of these declarations of expenditure the rate of consumption of the appropriations was 44.3% for the ESF and 59.3% for the ERDF, or an average of 46.7% for the programme.

2. The Commission attributes the delay in implementing the measures in favour of education and initial training mainly to the following factors:

* adoption of the programme at the end of July 1994;

* most of the envisaged actions are ambitious and innovative for the Greek education system, needing serious and thoughtful preparation, both at ministerial level (political objectives and priorities, preparation, detailing and planning of the actions, criteria for allocating the financial resources and procedures for selecting the projects) and at the level of the implementing bodies;

* the particularly sensitive and delicate content of many of these actions, which affect a large part of Greek society (reform of the curriculum, training of teachers, development of post-university courses and university libraries);

* certain administrative weaknesses (lack of relevant experience, inadequacies of the mechanisms and insufficient personnel for designing, detailing and planning the projects), as well as the absence up to now of a programme manager.

3. The programme monitoring committee met on 8 May (third meeting) with the objective of accelerating implementation of the actions notably concerning general and technical education and tertiary education (sub-programmes 1 and 3). At this meeting priority was given to discussing and adopting several actions in these two sub-programmes 2 and 3 (foreign languages, vocational guidance, environmental education, school libraries, mobility programme, university libraries, computer networks between universities and technological institutes, placements for students, and liaison offices between tertiary institutions and firms) so that they can be implemented immediately.

The Ministry of Education intends to have the monitoring committee adopt all the programme actions so that they can be implemented by year's end.

Moreover a programme manager (a private firm) has in the meantime been selected, and this will facilitate the execution of the programme.