12 Amendments of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2013/2045(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph A
Paragraph A
A. whereas education and training policies play a crucial role in combating the high level of youth unemployment; whereas keeping up with a rapidly evolving labour market requires more investment in vocational education and training (VET), higher education and researchmost studies demonstrate the importance of providing good-quality education from the earliest school years as a means of preventing early school-leaving and ensuring that children from the most disadvantaged social backgrounds are fully integrated into school life; whereas keeping up with a rapidly evolving labour market requires more investment in vocational education and training (VET), higher education and research; whereas taking account of the requirements of the labour market should not preclude children from acquiring the broadest possible foundation of knowledge, as that is the best way of ensuring they will be able to adapt to the vagaries of the employment market and of life in general;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph A a (new)
Paragraph A a (new)
Aa. whereas Member States have to provide a social safety net and guarantee decent living conditions for workers who become unemployed and for young people unable to find work;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph A b (new)
Paragraph A b (new)
Ab. whereas as the economic and financial crisis has worsened and austerity has been imposed, especially in economically more fragile Member States, education budget cuts have been making access more difficult and undermining teaching standards; whereas the crisis and austerity policies are having a direct adverse impact on young people’s prospects for gaining access to, and remaining in, education and employment;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph B
Paragraph B
B. whereas early school leaving seriously hampers the economic and social development of the Union; whereas early school leavers are more often unemployed and at risk of social exclussocial inequalities within education systems, which are often linked to the lack of sufficient – and appropriate – human and financial resources, early school leaving and failure to achieve educational qualifications, have a considerable impact on young people’s employability, since early school leavers are more often unemployed and at risk of social exclusion and, consequently, seriously hamper the economic and social development of the Union;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph C
Paragraph C
C. whereas EU mobility programmes in the field of education and youth boost job prospects and encourage labour market mobility but continue to be relatively inaccessible to young people from the most disadvantaged social and occupational backgrounds;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is strongly concerned at the budget cuts by Member States in the field of education, training and youth, and recalls; notes, in particular, the adverse effects of structural reforms and associated austerity programmes in terms of youth unemployment in some Member States, particularly in Southern Europe, which is leading to a significant brain-drain to other countries, including non-EU countries; recalls, therefore, that budget allocations to education and training should be perceived as a necessary and invaluable investment for the future;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is strongly concerned at the budget cuts by Member States in the field of education, training and youth, and recalls that budget allocations to education and training should be perceived as a necessary and invaluable investment for the future; condemns any increases in tuition fees for state higher education, a measure which several Member States are considering or have already implemented; urges the Member States to ensure that no student is denied access to, or prevented from remaining in, the various levels of education for economic reasons;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Urges the Member States to consider whether they might abolish enrolment and tuition fees, whose effects, aggravated by the current economic and social crisis, constitute yet another barrier to access to, and continued study in, state higher education; urges the Member States to increase their education budgets, especially where student grants and social support are concerned, so as to ensure that students will not be forced to take a job or get into debt while they are still studying;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Notes that, because of the economic and financial crisis, many families can no longer afford to pay for higher education, a fact which has led to an increase in drop-out rates at this level; considers that Member States should ensure that all persons, whatever their economic circumstances, can enjoy the right to free and universal education of a high quality;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls fHighlights the impor tan increased use of dual education systems which combine theoretical and practical teaching; highlights the importance of VETce of VET, including lifelong training, in striking the right balance between education and labour market demand; considers that the promotion of VET should not be done at the expense of higher education; emphasises the importance of improving quality standards in higher education;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that more and more teachers have been losing their jobs in some countries being ‘bailed out’ by the Troika and, as a result, teaching standards are declining, schools are being closed, curricula are being pared down, and academic failure and school drop-out rates are rising; notes that the higher student-teacher ratios resulting from the cuts are translating into lower teaching standards in the education system, the goal of which should be to enable teachers to follow the school careers of their pupils more closely;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 bis. In particular, asks the Member States to target, with the Commission’s support, young people who are not in education, training or employment, in order to offer them quality learning and training provision so that they can gain the skills and experience they need to enter employment or re-enter the educational system through courses designed to take account of their difficulties;