The 2015 edition of the EU's Education and Training Monitor shows
more Member States have now reached their goals in increasing the number
of students completing higher levels of education and minimising those
leaving education early. This means Europe is on track to reach the
targets set in its growth and jobs strategy by 2020. However, this
progress is uneven, with discrepancies between and within Member States.
Pupils from disadvantaged and immigrant backgrounds are most at risk of
not reaching minimal educational standards.
Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: "Education
is crucial if we are to boost economic growth and build cohesive
societies. As Europe's education systems improve, it is therefore
important that the benefits of this success are shared by those most at
risk. This requires new and reinforced investment into education to
ensure high quality open, supportive and tolerant learning environments
for all."
Evidence gathered for the Monitor shows that
15-year olds with low socio-economic status are five times more likely...
not to achieve basic skills like literacy and numeracy than their peers
from better-off backgrounds. It also highlights the fact that
foreign-born students are twice as likely to leave school early as
native-born students.
This situation is set against continuous
spending cuts in educational budgets, which have fallen by 3.2% across
Europe since 2010. The study concludes that a new boost in investment
for education is needed to build more inclusive educational systems in
Europe and avoid rising 'educational poverty', which remains a root
cause of unemployment and social exclusion. It recommends Member States
to focus such efforts on improving the accessibility, quality and
relevance of their education and training systems.
Background
The
Education and Training Monitor 2015 is the fourth edition of this
annual report that captures the evolution of Europe's education and
training systems by bringing together a wide array of evidence. It
measures Europe's progress on the objectives of the Europe 2020 headline target for education,
as part of the broader EU growth and jobs strategy. The report is also
the starting point for assessing EU countries’ performance as a basis
for the yearly Country Reports in the framework of the European
Semester.
The study also strengthens the evidence-base for
education and training policies more broadly and has become a reference
tool for policy makers around Europe. It comprises a cross-country
comparison, twenty-eight in-depth country reports, and a dedicated webpage with additional data and information.
Mutual
learning and a strengthened evidence-base are crucial if Member States
are to address challenges like rising inequalities and persisting
unemployment around Europe. The data compiled by the Monitor can also
help to improve our understanding and response to growing risks of
radicalisation, as highlighted by attacks in Paris and Copenhagen
earlier this year, as well tackle challenges posed by the ongoing
refugee crisis by building more open and cohesive societies.
