Some of the problems of European Schools are difficult to solve: perhaps the biggest are the lack of career perspectives in general for the teachers (but particularly for those recruited locally e.g. in Ispra) requiring a structural organizational change, and the long-standing overcrowding in Brussels requiring substantial investment. But, it’s not simply enough to throw money at the problems [1], greater reform is needed to future-proof the European School education system.
Some of the problems are a little easier to start work on but remain unaddressed, even after repeated complaints by parents and calls from Generation 2004 and staff representatives.
Warsaw: accredited school
In Warsaw, children of colleagues in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), in the Commission Representation and in the European Parliament liaison office can attend a state-run school which follows the European-School education system [2]: a recently accredited [3] European School.
For the school in Warsaw there are two issues requiring attention: concerns on the transparency of the school management and more clarity on the setting of fees: transport fees there are nearly double those of the European Schools in Brussels.
In addition to high transport fees (more than 4000 EUR per child), parents have to pay them in full 6 months in advance. While this sum is reimbursed later in full, this is done in instalments, meaning parents take a significant hit: this is a huge financial burden.
Generation 2004 requests that the Commission use its influence in the Board of Governors of the European Schools to encourage the accredited school to work on transparency and auditing; e.g. could PMO pay transport fees directly to the Warsaw school, as currently happens in Brussels?
For this issue, it’s not about searching for extra budget or changing laws, its just about making better use of the existing control mechanisms and existing budget: copying a system established and working on an other site.
Evere site of Woluwe school: temporary or not?
The Evere site of the European School Brussels II was created on temporary premises to cater for the structural schools overcrowding in Brussels. It is linked to the Woluwe site, both sites making today a single European School. While the temporary premises are reasonably satisfactory, a permanent, fully fledged facility with appropriate space for buses to arrive should be constructed one day.
However, parents whose children study at Evere are rightly concerned because the official written documents by the Belgian authorities only mark the Evere school as ‘temporary’ and the urban plans for the Evere [4] area do not consider the continuity of this school. Generation 2004 replied to the public consultation on these urban plans, and encouraged others to do so, in order to support Evere parents.
Generation 2004 is aware that both the Commission and the Secretary General of the European Schools are in contact with the Regie des Bâtiments, the Belgian authority in charge of European School buildings, which reassures orally that the intention is that Evere remains as a permanent school. However, it is difficult to understand why this assurance cannot be written.
Generation 2004 requests that the Commission use its influence to get written confirmation from the Belgian authorities on the permanence of the Evere school.
It’s not about searching for extra budget to build another school or enacting new regulation, it’s just about putting in written what is said orally.
European Parliament evaluations of European Schools
The European Parliament has requested numerous changes [5] in European Schools governance, including more transparency. Parents in Brussels would particularly welcome more transparency in their appeals against decisions regarding assigning children to linguistic sections. When parents have different languages, or their children have attended schools with languages different from those of the parents, the school decides, basically on its own, the linguistic section of the children. It’s virtually impossible to appeal those decisions and there is no ombudsman that could limit arbitrary resolutions.
More generally, the assignation of children to a specific site/schools is a frequent source of frustration for parents who live next to a school but get a place in a school on the other side of the city. Not only newcomers, but colleagues returning from Delegations, Representations and long-term missions might also find that their children are not enrolled in their previous school, depending on the strict allocation rules, which are optimized to fill schools with capacity, not to satisfy parent’s needs.
Generation 2004 requests that the Commission take an active role in the reform of the European Schools governance and that it offer further support to the possibility of using international school provision to alleviate pressure on European Schools and offer more choice to parents.
It’s not about asking throwing money at the problems, a lot can be achieved by using existing resources to satisfy evident needs.
Of course, we will keep you posted on any developments and as always, we appreciate your feedback [6].
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004 [7].