Citation
(2002), "Ministers back ten-year plan to improve education quality", Education + Training, Vol. 44 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2002.00444fab.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
Ministers back ten-year plan to improve education quality
Ministers back ten-year plan to improve education quality
EU education ministers have agreed a ten-year plan to improve the quality and efficiency of education systems in Europe, enable access for everyone and open up EU educational establishments to the outside world. The plan states that by 2010:
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the highest quality will be achieved in education and training and Europe will be recognized worldwide for the quality of its education and training systems and institutions;
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education and training systems in Europe will be compatible enough to allow people to move between them and to take advantage of their diversity;
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qualifications and skills acquired anywhere in the EU will be usable throughout the European Union for the purposes of career development and further learning;
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Europeans of all ages will have access to lifelong learning;
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Europe will take advantage of benefits deriving from working with educational organizations around the world and should be the most-favoured destination of students and researchers.
A timetable and indicators for measuring progress are set out in the plan. The interim results will be assessed in 2003, when member states will be measured by progress made rather than by overall quality. Education commissioner Viviane Reding said: "We want to improve education systems and get them to converge in order to improve mobility in Europe. Learning foreign languages should be a particular priority … There can be no economic growth and development without top-quality education systems."
On the creation of a European area of lifelong learning, which the ministers also debated, Mrs Reding said the EU was "only at the start of a very long road". Britain and the Nordic countries had made excellent progress, but she was not prepared to name and shame the worst performers. She argued that, if member states pooled their expertise and knowledge, they would reach the goal faster.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament committee on culture and education has stated that the EU states must offer top-quality higher education to remain competitive in the international marketplace. To help to guarantee quality throughout European higher education, the MEPs urge the Commission to study, in close co-operation with the European Association of Universities, the establishment of a European quality label. The MEPs also recommend that EU member states include foreign-language training for all higher-education students. In addition, the Euro-MPs want the EU to promote the creation of a common cycle of studies for universities throughout Europe, leading to the award of common qualifications.