OBESSU discussing Opening up Education with the EESC
On 9th of January, OBESSU was invited to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to give inputs on the European Commission’s Opening up Education Communication. The EESC is a consultative body consisting of civil society representatives from different member states and as such they give recommendations to the European Union on a wide range of topics. OBESSU was represented at the session by the Secretary General Rasmus Åberg.
The Communication outlines a number of initiatives that the European Union is planning to take in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investments in education. OBESSU is happy to see that the Commission has taken up an interest in this topic. If implemented correctly, investing in ICT solutions can contribute to reaching out to groups that otherwise do not have access to education, and the lack of ICT infrastructure at some places is indeed a problem in Europe. It is also good that the Commission encourages the use of Open Educational Resources (freely accessible and openly licensed material) in schools.
However, OBESSU also has some concerns regarding the development and this was pointed out in OBESSU’s presentation at the EESC. For example, OBESSU still sees the lack of investment in education as a problem which must be overcome if any massive investments in ICT infrastructure are to be made. It is important that the “bring your own device” principle mentioned in the Communication does not lead to a situation where school students are expected to pay for expensive ICT equipment; as highlighted in OBESSU’s current campaign “Education, we have a problem!”, it is important that all hidden costs of education are removed. And, very importantly, when the changes are to be implemented in schools, the school students and teachers must be properly involved in the planning and implementation process.
Similar concerns were also raised by the representatives of the European Students’ Union (ESU) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE). The representatives of the EESC and the two rapporteurs seemed genuinely interested in the inputs and mentioned several times that it was nice to see the presence of a school student union and a student union. If the views will actually be taken into account in EESC’s final report remains to be seen. The final report will be out in February and OBESSU is eagerly following the developments.
Written by Rasmus Åberg
