Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-07-Speech-3-330"
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"en.20050907.22.3-330"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that my experience as headteacher of a grammar school in a large provincial Czech town, where pupil numbers are comparable to those of the European school in the Spanish town of Alicante, makes me well placed to comment on the issues that most affect the European schools.
The Commission communication makes it clear that constraints are placed on the long-term financial planning of individual European schools in the shape of staff management and school development strategies. It is impossible to manage any company well in the face of such uncertainty, let alone an educational institution. I therefore very much welcome the proposal to transfer such decisions to headteachers and boards of governors, as they are the ones who best know the current needs and requirements of their institutions.
If I may, I should now like to touch on a number of areas where improvements would lead to an increase in the standard of education. Many fellow Members of this House, as well as teachers, experts and parents in the majority of Member States, would be up in arms if the maximum number of pupils per class were 32. In most places such class sizes have been consigned to the dim and distant past, but in certain European schools they are part of everyday life.
Classes are not usually so large, of course, but such cases have been known. It is self-evident that a smaller number of pupils makes it possible to apply different pedagogical methods and procedures in the classroom. We must not neglect the requirements of pupils with special educational needs and those who receive most of their education in a language other than their mother tongue. If the EU institutions wish to make good on the commitment they made 50 years ago, namely to offer the children of their employees a high-quality education, then they should give due consideration to these obvious requirements.
In conclusion, I should like to lend my support to calls for the introduction of an alternative leaving certificate, in addition to the highly academic European Baccalaureate, for pupils who decide to study vocational subjects. At the same time, it would be appropriate to earmark a certain percentage of resources for the civic and practical skills needed to prepare all children for their future. I should like to thank the rapporteur."@en1
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