Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-01-Speech-3-263"
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"en.20090401.21.3-263"2
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".
Mr President, honourable Members, I welcome this own-initiative report and, above all, on my own behalf and that of my colleague Commissioner Figel', wish to thank Mr Takkula, the rapporteur, and the Committee on Culture and Education for the work they have put in.
The European Commission shares the honourable Member’s belief that the growing number of children with a migrant background presents the education systems of the majority of our Member States with considerable challenges.
Education is the key issue in the integration process. The acquisition of qualifications is indispensable if we want to ensure the future of our citizens in a knowledge-based society, a society increasingly subject to competition. Yet it is equally important that schools, as a social experiment, provide the basis for mutual knowledge and mutual understanding, which is crucial to improving our coexistence.
Currently, however, pupils with a migrant background in Europe face great problems. Migrant children are often confronted with a twofold challenge: on the one hand, insufficient knowledge of the language of the host country and, on the other, a low socio-economic status. Compared to native pupils, many migrant children perform poorly at school and have higher school drop-out rates and lower rates of enrolment in higher education.
Therefore, the report rightly emphasises the importance of giving migrant children proper help in learning the language of the host country, whilst also promoting their native languages and cultures. Participation in pre-primary education is also important, in order to achieve successful integration into education systems at an early stage and eliminate socio-economic and linguistic disadvantages. Teachers should, at all events, have the necessary qualifications, which are so important for a multicultural environment. Mobility should also be a key component of teacher training and professional development.
I am delighted that there is such a broad consensus on these issues. I believe that we are also agreed that we now need to put our good intentions into practice and really improve the educational opportunities of migrant children. Thus we should support the Member States so as to ensure a high quality of education for all and, at the same time, actively prevent the socio-economic segregation of pupils. We should assist Member States in enabling schools to master the diverse requirements so as to turn the original challenge of the multicultural society and multilingualism into an advantage for these schools.
Of course, the substance and organisation of school systems are purely national competences, and the Commission does not intend to encroach on these competences in any way. I must say, though, that the successful integration of migrant children is something that concerns Europe as a whole. We have a great deal to learn from one another, and we can learn a great deal from one another. We are sure that your report represents an important step towards showing what specific action can be taken to help the Member States in this field."@en1
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