EDUC: Strengthening Education in the Crisis

“If we economise our education to death during the crisis, we also destroy the foundations on which we hope to build the welfare of the next generation,” Claude Heiser, Chairman of the CESI trade council EDUC for culture, education, research and youth, stated on 6th October in Brussels. The savings in the public budgets of many European countries must not result in losing sight of the value of education for society as a whole. “We need to give future generations the right tools to continue to exist in the globalised world,” Heiser said. Education cannot be had for free.

However, Heiser also explicitly praised the progress in education made in many countries in recent years. “Initial progress is gradually becoming apparent. The number of school leaving qualifications is increasing and more people have access to higher education,” Heiser praised. Yet this progress is in danger. “Some of the savings in the public sector in recent years have hit schools and universities very hard,” Heiser criticised. Staff reductions especially in many public educational institutions are placing excessive strains on the remaining teaching staff. Wanting to absorb this through investments from the private sector both in primary and secondary schools and in higher education is extremely problematic, as the question of independence of education and the teaching institutions is raised.

Consideration is often given only to the short-term expenditure side. “If apprenticeships are cut, class sizes increased and money for teaching materials axed, even the best teacher is stretched to the limit,“ Heiser said. The quality of education and therefore also of qualifications will inevitably suffer as a result. This would be contrary not only to the Europe 2020 objectives of the European Commission but also to the fundamental issue of sustainable development.

Moreover, education is in danger of again becoming a luxury commodity. “Higher education qualifications in particular have become disproportionately expensive in recent years,” Heiser criticised. For many, such a degree is no longer an option, purely for financial reasons. “Schools and further educational institutions must continue to receive special attention from the states. Education needs to become accessible for even more people,” the EDUC Chairman claimed. Otherwise, the consequences of a failed educational policy could be disastrous.