The Big Debate Gets Under Way

Online, April 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The UK general election may well be fought on domestic issues and Europe may not be high on any major party agenda in England, but in Scotland it is a different matter. The first event at Holyrood after the election will have the Parliament's Debating Chamber thronged with primary schools competing in the Euroquiz finals, under the watchful eye of Alex Fergusson (no, not that one, this is the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament). They are the finalist teams from heats that have been held in all 32 Scottish local authorities. The public gallery will be teeming with families and supporters, and the final is being broadcast live on www.holyrood.tv from 1.30 on 10th May, allowing whole country to join in.

Euroquiz is just one of the nationwide activities being run by the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET), a voluntary body, an NGO without political leanings, setting out to inform people about the European affairs that affect their lives.

So what about south of the border? Well, the English Trust for European Education (ETEE) has similar aims, and its next Europa Conference, which takes place in Oxford on 3rd and 4th June, will be working on key issues for the future. It will bring together parents, school and university teachers, and organisations from across Europe - and that includes SEET too! What are the European Union's policies and programmes for education? Can we appreciate English without another language to compare? Who knows what bilingual schools work and what bilingual families need? What about families working in different parts of Europe? Who has heard of the European Baccalaureate, which is now open for the first time to national schools? What are the common values to share in schools? These are just some of the issues for the June conference. Education is about much more than the annual squabble about A Level results!

In the wake of the general election, whatever policies emerge affecting European education, there will be a yearning for an informed electorate, not least among young people, don't get left out of the debate over which direction our education systems are taking.