Debate: The future of European education in the context of Covid-
Date: MONDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2020
Speaker: Victor Negrescu
Country: Finland
Language: EN

Our education and training systems are now facing severe challenges due to the COVID—19 pandemic. 94% of the global learner population, meaning many nearly 1.6 billion learners, were affected by the closure of education and training institutions at the top of the crisis. Unfortunately, today the numbers remain high in the context of a potential second wave. Not everyone had access to digital education, with severe gaps at EU level. Up to 32% of pupils did not have access to education for several months in some Member States, among them Romania, where close to one million children did not have access to online education.  Despite that, many countries are still unprepared in front of the second wave that is now hitting Europe. More things should be done to ensure access to quality education and training for all Europeans, and for that we need to invest more in education. We need to invest in infrastructure, in digital skills and lifelong learning, in improving the connectivity of remote areas, in new initiatives like the European Online University, in the new tools, curriculums and devices that have been developed across Europe.  This crisis has shown us positive examples set up by professors, parents, learners, civil society and education providers, and we praise everyone’s efforts. Therefore, we recommend scaling up and increasing the visibility of effective initiatives and providing a platform for Member States to share good practices. We deeply regret that the Council is proposing budgetary cuts specifically in those programmes that support education and training policies. We reiterate our call for the Erasmus+ budget to be tripled while actively encouraging Member States to significantly increase public spending on education and on the Commission to prioritise education and training in the recovery plan – some of us are even calling for a 10% allocation.  Education is a right, and access to digital education should not be a privilege anymore. Therefore, we are asking the Council and the Commission to present a transparent and complete assessment of the impact of the crisis. It is key to see the lessons that have been learned. The upgraded digital education action plan and the plan to achieve the European education area by 2025 are just initial steps. The current situation demands a much quicker and stronger reaction, both at national and European level. We call upon Member States, with the support of the Commission, to present the education policy priorities that have been identified to make our education and training systems more inclusive and more evident in the current context. You must come up with a long—term vision for EU education policy. We need to see the EU playing a more prominent role in shaping education policy, and the first step could be to see better cooperation and coordination among Member States on how to deal with the current crisis. Our resolution, and this is the goal of this debate, calls to work closely together to minimise the health risks for staff and learners and to maximise the chances that in—person education and training is safe and can continue. The future of education depends on us making sure that all individuals, without discrimination, have access to education.