Education budgets under pressure in EU Member States
EI has commented on a new Eurydice report on the impact of the financial and economic crisis on education budgets across Europe, revealing that investment in education fell in eight out of 25 Member States since 2010.
Worrying trends in funding in education through Europe
Cuts of more than 5 per cent were imposed in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal, while Estonia, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom (Scotland) saw decreases of 1 to 5 per cent.
However, five Member States increased education spending by more than 1 per cent: Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Malta and Sweden, as well as the German-speaking Community of Belgium. Germany and the Netherlands did not provide data for the period since 2010.
The report analyses trends in education spending in 35 European regional and national education systems over the 2000-2012 time span. The analysis covers the developments in education funding from pre-primary to tertiary level and provides an overview of the main trends in the adult learning sector in 31 European countries.
The full report includes information on:
· the economic context,
· actual public expenditure and national budget developments in education,
· trends in funding of human resources,
· national budgets for educational infrastructure and support systems, and
· latest trends in funding and changes to national policies for the financial support of students.
The crisis is not an excuse
In a letter to affiliates, EI European region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), highlights that “Eurydice points out that reductions in education spending happened as a result of cuts in teacher salaries and individually names – and shames – Greece, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, Portugal and Ireland. In reality, teachers’ salaries were directly affected by the economic slowdown in up to half of the countries studied, according to this reports’ data.”
The letter also notes that other worrying trends pointed out by this study include mergers and closures of schools, increasing class sizes as well as lack of investment in ICT or professional development. All of these, and more, have an impact on quality in education, it deplores.
The ETUCE invites its member organisations to use this document’s data as a resource in their work and efforts to lobby for increased education funding across Europe.
“We will never accept he current economic and financial crisis be used as an excuse by Governments to cut spending in education and teachers,” reiterated EI European Director Martin Rømer. “This is a short-sighted and ill-fated solution. This issue of education funding is right at the heart of the EI Mobilising for Quality Education campaign launched recently.”
He stressed that Governments, in Europe and the world over, have the crucial responsibility to ensure access to quality public education for all, and must invest a substantial proportion of the state budget in education, amounting to at least 6 per cent of their gross domestic product.
The ETUCE letter can be read in its entirety here
The full Eurydice report is available in English here
