Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-07-Speech-3-333"
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"en.20050907.22.3-333"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, are the European Schools the flagship of the European education system? No, they are not. Where do they rank according to the PISA study? Are they meeting quality targets? The answer is ‘no’. Are their shortcomings purely due to budgetary factors? Again, the answer is ‘no’. The list of shortcomings grows longer; complaints by parents and pupils grow louder. Action is needed, as indeed the present report makes plain for all to see.
I should like to use my speaking time to give a voice to the letters of complaint I have received from parents and pupils. They complain of overcrowding in the European Schools. In Brussels, there has been an intake of 8 600 pupils this year, although the intended number was just 7 300. The classes are too large. High-achieving pupils are rarely being stretched or encouraged.
In the second school year following the major enlargement, the languages of the new Member States are still not on the curriculum. The availability of languages rapidly decreases if pupils put the main emphasis on scientific subjects.
Furthermore, the role of the ‘educational advisers’, as they are known, remains unclear. The European Schools lack an appropriate administrative culture. Letters are going unanswered. The European Schools and their heads need more efficient disciplinary control. There are often failures in control at Member State level, and there is insufficient provision for control at European level.
In May, the Commission received a petition from parents of pupils in the German language section at Woluwé, voicing their concern and asking the fundamental question as to whether a fourth German language section would be set up in Brussels at all, and whether the German section would be forced to move from Woluwé to Laeken.
These are questions about questions, not just questions about money. I would ask the Commissioner to tell us how he is dealing with these misgivings on the part of parents."@en1
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