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European Students’ Union wants direct participation embedded in governance structures of EU education initiatives
Students should be given the chance to directly participate in the governance of European Education Area initiatives, the European Students’ Union has said.
The EEA is an initiative in which EU member states work together to improve education quality and mobility, and is currently undergoing a mid-term review.
In a contribution to that review it published on 10 July, the ESU, which mainly represents university students, said that “essential pieces of the puzzle are still missing…such as…a framework for adequate student participation”.
Its reasoning was that, “as the main stakeholders in higher education, students are the ones who will benefit from it the most, or the ones who will be most affected by its shortcomings if not well thought through”.
The ESU is calling for student participation to be directly embedded in the governance structures of EEA schemes such as the European Universities Initiative, which supports cross-border institutional collaboration.
“Alliances cannot thrive without respect [for] fundamental values, and especially…ensuring proper student participation and student rights guaranteed at alliance level,” it said.
Other calls
The ESU also wants the EU to focus more on student mobility initiatives, including by increasing funding for its academic mobility programme, Erasmus+.
It wants full and swift implementation of the 25-year-old Bologna Process, through which governments are working to improve mobility through mutual recognition of qualifications, and a scaling up of the mobility-supporting European Student Card.
It also called for a European framework for diversity and inclusion to help universities act on elements including gender equality.