19 September 2023
European ministers pledged to reduce university dropout rates and promote community values in education on the second day of the informal ministerial meeting on education and youth in Zaragoza.
European ministers pledged to reduce university dropout rates and promote community values in education on the second day of the informal ministerial meeting on education and youth in Zaragoza.
The meeting served to “continue cementing” the common values of the EU, according to the acting Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría, who chaired this informal ministerial meeting together with the acting Minister for Universities, Joan Subirats.
Themeeting was also attended by the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Protection of the European Lifestyle, Margaritis Schinas, who underlined the interest of the Community Executive in promoting the European way of life through education, with initiatives such as the European University Alliance or the European Space for Education.
Regarding the European University Alliance, which makes it possible to obtain a European degree by combining studies in several centres, Schinas explained that next year the programme will be made up of 60 alliances and 560 universities, which represents 10% of the total number of higher academic institutions in Europe.
Combating university dropout
On this second day, ministers discussed how to encourage vulnerable European students to graduate from university.
According to acting minister Subirats, there is “a significant dropout rate” at university, especially among people from “poorer backgrounds”, who face more difficulties in both accessing university and paying for their studies.
“Education has always been a mechanism for social advancement, for progress, for people’s development. And it is true that European universities have always been much more accessible than in other university systems,” Subirats stressed.
The aim of the EU-27 is therefore to “preserve this value of accessibility… “We can hardly achieve more inclusive universities if we do it separately for each country,” he told a press conference.
In this regard, the EU has raised the need to make further progress in the development and implementation of strategies for the inclusion and educational success of vulnerable pupils. These strategies would be implemented from access right through to university graduation, through the promotion of flexible and modular study programmes that favour a broader entry to higher education, including for those over 30 years old, with a system of micro-credentials that also functions as an integration mechanism.
Education has always been a mechanism for social advancement, for progress, for people’s development. And it is true that European universities have always been much more accessible than in other university systems.
With the aim of fostering more inclusive higher education, the Spanish presidency has proposed the promotion of regulations that will:
- Explicitly regulate access and social inclusion in universities.
- Improve funding for students and their families, as well as for universities.
- Adapt organisational processes to the needs of vulnerable learners.
- Promote information and accompaniment programmes, including individualised mentoring and guidance, both during higher education and at earlier educational stages.
According to Subirats, mentoring helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds who find it more difficult to follow the dynamics of the courses. These mentorships can be made up of older students from the same university degree.
European values and democratic citizenship
In the third session, ministers discussed a conclusions document on how education contributes to the promotion of European values and democratic citizenship. This text, promoted by the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, will serve as the basis for a dossier that is expected to be approved in November, within the framework of the meeting of education, youth, culture and sports ministers to be held in Brussels.
Speaking at the press conference afterwards, Alegría listed the challenges these principles have faced in recent years: several economic crises, the coronavirus pandemic, profound technological changes and, most recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We must avoid risks that could lead to a breach of these principles, and for this reason, education plays an absolutely fundamental role in this task”, said the acting minister Alegría.
The aim of the Spanish presidency is for the Commission and the EU member states to promote the teaching of EU values through the educational curriculum and teacher training, the generation of teaching materials, voluntary actions, the Erasmus+ programme and the European Education Area.
We must avoid risks that could lead to a breach of these principles, and for this reason, education plays an absolutely fundamental role in this task
Specifically, continuing to build the European Education Area is another of the objectives of the Spanish presidency, which is working with the other countries on the automatic recognition of qualifications. This process aims to achieve two things, according to Alegría: greater mobility of students and lecturers, and increased employability.
The European recognition of qualifications will be one of the topics for discussion at the Presidency Conference to be held in Seville in October.
Europe, an educational destination
At the joint press conference, Vice-President and Commissioner Schinas pointed out that the EU seeks to make the European area an educational destination for third countries.
Schinas concluded his speech by recalling that Europe trains “free people, citizens”, in a democratic, cohesive system that is accessible to all. “This is a legacy. It is a goal that we intend to continue to pursue. It is an ongoing process,” he said.
The third plenary session brought to a close the informal ministerial meeting that began on Monday with a first day chaired by the acting head of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra, in which the European Youth Ministers stressed the importance of placing young people at the heart of European policies.
“In this regard, we believe it is very important to include young people in all public policies that affect them”, underlined Belarra, who expressed her confidence in the forthcoming approval of two conclusions within the Council of the EU: one to provide greater resources for mental health care and the other to promote the participation of young people in the EU’s decision-making process.