8 EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES
(25064)
14358/03
COM(03) 685
| Commission Communication Education & training 2010 — the success of the Lisbon strategy hinges on urgent reforms (Draft joint interim report on the implementation of the detailed work programme on the follow-up of the objectives of education and training systems in Europe).
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 11 October 2003
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| Deposited in Parliament |
24 November 2003 |
| Department | Education and Skills
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| Basis of consideration |
EM of 4 December 2003 |
| Previous Committee Report |
None; but see (22667) 11762/01; HC 152-vi (2001-02), paragraph 13 (14 November 2001)
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| To be discussed in Council
| No date set |
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but information on progress requested
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Background
8.1 In March 2000, the Lisbon European Council set the
goal for the European Union to become, by 2010, "the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world,
capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs
and greater social cohesion". Among other things, this would
require a challenging programme for the modernisation of education
systems.
8.2 In March 2001, the Stockholm European
Council adopted three strategic education and training goals and
13 associated objectives. These are to be attained by 2010. In
2002, the Barcelona European Council approved a detailed work
programme to implement the objectives.[19]
Last May, the Education Council adopted five benchmarks for Member
States to achieve by 2010.[20]
8.3 The Council and the Commission are to
make a joint report to the European Council in Spring 2004 on
progress towards the attainment of the work programme.
The document
8.4 The Commission has produced this document
as a contribution to the joint report to the European Council.
It takes stock of the progress made so far, identifies challenges
to be faced and proposes measures which, in the Commission's view,
need to be taken urgently if the education and training objectives
are to be achieved by 2010.
8.5 The Commission says that it is too soon
to measure progress exactly. But the available information points
to the conclusion that "if reform proceeds at the current
rate, the Union will be unable to attain its objectives in education
and training". The Commission finds that:
- there are deficiencies in the
lifelong learning strategies of many Member States;
- the quality of vocational training is very variable
throughout Europe and few countries have made vocational training
attractive;
- mobility of students within the EU is obstructed
and insufficient;
- there is insufficient public sector and private
sector investment in education;
- too few people have higher education qualifications
(for example, in the EU, 23% of men and 20% of women aged 25-64
have a higher education qualification compared with 36% of men
and 32% of women in Japan);
- of all graduates in the EU qualified in science
and technology compared to 17.2% in the USA but the percentage
of researchers is much lower in the EU than it is in the US;
- premature school leaving rates remain high;
- there is a looming shortage of school teachers;
- of European children under 15 do not have the
required minimum competence in reading.
8.6 In the Commission's view, urgent reforms
to education and training systems are needed, built around the
following four priorities:
"Concentrate reforms and investment on the
key points in each country, in view of the situation of each
and of the common objectives; at the Community level, this requires
structured and continuous cooperation to develop and make best
use of human resources and achieve maximum investment efficiency;
"define truly coherent and comprehensive
lifelong learning strategies, ensuring effective interaction
between all the links of the learning chain and setting national
reforms within the European context;
"at last create a Europe of education and
training, particularly by rapid introduction of a European reference
framework for qualifications in higher education and vocational
training; such a framework is essential for creating a genuine
European labour market, to facilitate mobility and make European
systems more transparent;
"give 'Education and Training 2010' its
rightful place so that it becomes a more effective tool for formulating
and following up national and Community policies, including beyond
the current decade; the urgent nature of the challenges to be
faced means that we have to use the open method of coordination[21]
to the full — while fully complying with the principle of
subsidiarity. In particular, the Commission feels that as from
2004 a mechanism should be put in place to monitor progress achieved
on the basis of annual reports forwarded to the Commission by
the Member States.".
8.7 The Commission adds that it believes
that a high-level group should be instructed to review national
policies. It also proposes that every year Member States should
send it a report on all the action they have taken which is relevant
to the education and training objectives. The Commission "could
analyse these reports and produce an annual document containing
useful observations for all the actors and decision-makers".
8.8 The Commission concludes that if action
is taken quickly on all four of the priorities:
"there is still a chance that the objectives
set by the Member States can be attained. Otherwise, the likelihood
is that the gap between the Union and its main competitors will
become even wider and, what is more serious, that the success
of the Lisbon strategy would be seriously jeopardised".
The Government's view
8.9 The Minister of State for Lifelong Learning,
Further and Higher Education at the Department for Education and
Skills (Mr Alan Johnson) tells us that the Government is fully
committed to the priorities set by the Lisbon Council. It has
already taken action to achieve them, including the new strategies
for higher education, skills and training and changes to the curriculum
for 14 to 19 year olds. The Minister adds that challenges should
not be met simply by allocating additional resources; it is necessary
to look at the way systems are operated, the returns on investment
and whether to change priorities.
8.10 The Minister says that the four main
actions proposed by the Commission broadly reflect the UK's priorities.
But the Government has reservations about the Commission's proposal
to establish a high-level group to review national policies. The
Minister comments that a coherent action plan is needed which
addresses national lifelong learning strategies, increases the
involvement of the private sector, and focuses on disadvantaged
groups.
8.11 The Minister also tells us that, when
the Education Council considered the Commission's document on
25 November, there was widespread opposition to increasing bureaucracy.
He adds that:
"The Commission's proposal that each member
State should submit each year a consolidated report on the various
actions they had taken in the areas of education and training
was considered to be a heavy requirement. A simplified approach
to providing information and measuring progress should be developed".
8.12 The Government considers that a first-class
higher education system, including excellent research and innovation
facilities, is crucial to the development of a knowledge- based
Europe. The Government supports the EU programmes which encourage
greater cooperation between universities in Europe and elsewhere.
Conclusion
8.13 We recognise the importance of the
strategic goal set by the Lisbon European Council over three years
ago. As the Commission says, it is too soon to make a precise
evaluation of the progress towards achieving the education and
training objectives for 2010. It may be true that, at the present
rate of progress, the objectives will not be achieved. We note,
however, that the objectives were set in 2001 and the detailed
work programme adopted less than two years ago. If progress has
been too slow so far, that may be because the objectives and work
programme were unrealistic as much as, or more than, because Member
States have been tardy. Nonetheless, we can see the case for setting
priorities of the kind the Commission now advocates.
8.14 We share
the view of the Education Council that the proposal for Member
States to make an annual report on all the action they have taken
is excessive. Moreover, we have misgivings — despite the
reference to respect for subsidiarity — about the Commission's
assertion of the need for recourse to "the open method of
coordination": that would mean setting more benchmarks and
specific targets for Member States to achieve. We also endorse
the Minister's view that challenges should not be met simply by
allocating more resources.
8.15 The document
is not binding. It is a contribution to the work of preparing
the joint report from the Council and the Commission to next Spring's
European Council. Accordingly, we clear the document. But we ask
the Minister to keep our comments in mind in the discussions about
the joint report. We also ask him to keep us informed of the progress
of those discussions and to ensure, so far as he can, that we
receive the draft joint report in good time for us to scrutinise
it before it is presented to the European Council.
19 See headnote. Back
20
(24033) 14797/02; HC 63-xi (2002-03), paragraph 3 (5 February
2003) and HC 63-xix (2002-03), paragraph 8 (30 April 2003). Back
21
The "open method of coordination" involves fixing
guidelines for the Union to achieve goals; establishing indicators
and benchmarks; translating the guidelines into national and regional
policies by setting specific targets; and periodic monitoring
and evaluation of performance. Back
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