At the end of June, the European Commission proposed a Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success. The proposed Recommendation aims to tackle a number of challenges in education through a series of policy measures.
Across the European Union (EU), more than 3.2 million young people have left education and training early, and around a fifth of 15-year-olds do not reach the expected levels in reading, maths or science. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened many existing challenges in Europe’s education systems, which has led to increased learning loss for many young people.
The proposed Recommendation intends to address these challenges by calling on EU Member States to put a series of policy measures into place. These measures will aim to remove the link between educational achievement and social, economic and cultural status, reduce early school leaving, and raise achievement levels. They will also include a clear focus on learners’ physical and mental well-being and will promote equity and respect.
The Commission will provide support to Member States to help them to implement the policy measures. This support includes a peer-learning group set up as part of the European Education Area, professional development opportunities for education staff, and financial support from EU funds such as Erasmus+ and the Technical Support Instrument.
The proposal will be adopted following discussions with the Member States. The Recommendation will replace the 2011 Council Recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving.
The proposal for the Council Recommendation is available on the Commission website. More information from the Agency about the impact of COVID-19 on education systems is available in The Impact of COVID-19 on Inclusive Education at the European Level: Literature Review and the Building Resilience through Inclusive Education Systems project.