6 May education Council

Date: 09/05/1996

MOVES to improve the linguistic skills of the Union's school children received a mixed reception from ministers. The European Commission's White Paper on education published last year suggested that each pupil should learn at least two Union languages in addition to their native tongue. While some governments approved of the initiative, others argued that the pool of languages should be extended to include those in neighbouring Central and Eastern Europe. A third group warned that greater emphasis on European languages should not be to the detriment of major world languages such as Japanese and Chinese. Divisions also emerged over the age at which children should start learning foreign languages. Some believed this should begin as early as possible, while others insisted pupils should have a thorough grasp of their mother tongue first.

SIMILAR ambivalence emerged over the Commission's proposal for pilot projects to give children who leave school without any formal training or certificate a second chance. Several member states argued that the problems of educational failure could not be solved by the institutional device of creating a parallel system of schools. Education Commissioner Edith Cresson retorted that such criticism misrepresented the Commission's plans to give a second chance to 15&percent; of the Union's pupils who drop out without any qualifications. She insisted the scheme would be built, not around a parallel school system, but around pilot projects which would test possible solutions to better prepare these pupils for life.

STUDENTS may soon find it easier to use their academic qualifications to study in another EU country after ministers gave the go-ahead for an investigation into ways of eliminating existing obstacles. While the Union has put a system for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in place, acceptance of different diplomas for purely academic study is a matter solely for national authorities. Some are more prepared to recognise them than others. Ministers called on all those involved, ranging from EU institutions to educational establishments, to consider what improvements could be made. The Commission will study the merits of attaching an administrative annex to diplomas setting out the courses which have been followed so that a student's achievements can be more easily assessed. It will report back on its efforts to improve student mobility before the end of 1998.

MINISTERS also adopted a resolution on training software and multimedia for use in training and education. It encourages member states to intensify initial and in-service training of teachers using multimedia equipment in schools, universities and professional training centres. It aims to encourage research into suitable products and learning processes and to support pilot projects within the various Union-funded programmes, whether they are covered by regional and social policies or by the Trans-European Networks. Ministers will receive a report on the progress achieved by the end of next year.

CRESSON brought the Council up to date on projects already under way in a number of pedagogical areas. One involves an evaluation of the quality of higher education in the Union and another focuses on developing educational links with Central and Eastern Europe, Malta, Cyprus and countries in the Mediterranean basin. Cresson confirmed that the Commission would soon publish a Green Paper on the obstacles which prevent cross-frontier mobility in education, training and research. She also presented ministers with a small gift: the 1995 edition of Key Education Statistics containing facts and figures on the different educational systems operating in the Union.