This post is to keep UK institutions updated on disruptions across the EU Europe region caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information, updates, webinars and other engagement opportunities, please see ‘Europe and education: Stay connected during Covid-19’.

These posts focus on ten priority countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Romania and Spain. This week: France, Germany, Ireland, Romania, Spain.

• France: Guidance on Baccalaureate recognition issued to UK universities; insight from agents on interest levels in study in the UK and interest in deferral or cancellation.
• Germany: Pupils return to school in some states; criticism of government student financial support scheme.
• Ireland: Union of Students in Ireland criticises HEIs for lack of clarity around international placements for 2020/21.
• Romania: Government publishes four-year average system for assessing Bacalaureat oral and ICT grades.
• Spain: EBAU results due for release by 25 July.

If a country you’re interested in doesn’t appear here, or if you would like more details, please check previous weeks’ updates or contact the country representative. 

• 3 June: France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Romania
• 27 May: France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain
• 20 May: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Spain
• 13 May: Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Romania, Spain
• 6 May: Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Romania
• 29 April: Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania
• 22 April: Germany, Greece, Spain
• 16 April: Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Romania
• 8 April: Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain 

IELTS tests have been affected in all countries in Europe as a result of Covid-19 precautions. For the latest update by country, please check: https://www.ielts.org/news/2020/changes-to-ielts-test-arrangements-in-some-locations-due-to-novel-coronavirus. We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to provide updates as the situation develops. 

For more Europe updates, webinars, market insights and other services in international higher education, please go to your alerts settings and select updates by region from Europe. 

If you have any feedback, please contact me or any of the country staff listed below. 

Thank you - and stay safe. 

Almut Caspary – Higher Education and Research Lead, EU Europe (Almut.Caspary@britishcouncil.org). 

FRANCE

Updated 10 June

Examinations

To help explain the process through which this year's French Baccalaureate results are being calculated, the British Council and Association des Sections Internationales Britanniques et Anglophones (ASIBA) have published a statement addressed to all UK Vice Chancellors, Heads of Admission and Admissions Tutors. The document was prepared in close collaboration with French authorities. It aims to support smooth and fair admissions in an uncertain climate due to Covid-19. 

You can find this statement attached to this update. 

Other insights

One of the agencies we work with in France has told us that they have had very few requests to cancel plans to study in the UK, perhaps (in their words) due to a desire to avoid any changes to EU students' status. The agency is encouraging students not to defer entry, mainly because fees are likely to be much higher in 2021. Some of their students are interested in delaying the start of their course, but only until January.  However, there are many students who are waiting for more information before they make a final decision. If, for example, tuition is 100 per cent online in 2020-21, the agency predicts that cancellations will start, although perhaps less so for undergraduate students, who would be committing for several years and want to benefit from EU fees for all of their studies, compared with postgraduate students applying for one-year courses.

The agency reports that they have not had many questions about the sanitary situation in the UK, and that those seriously considering to come to the UK from France do not see an increased risk compared with the situation at home.

However, the agency has had cancellations from parents who can no longer finance the studies of their children.

The agency reports that they are continuing to receive new enquiries and applications for September 2020, and although perhaps fewer than usual, 'for a while I did fear that we would not receive any new applications'.

Contact

For more information about France, please contact Catherine Saracco (Catherine.Saracco@britishcouncil.fr).

GERMANY 

Updated 9 June

Important note: Education in Germany is largely devolved to the 16 federal states. This means that although there are agreed Germany-wide principles, there are differences in dates of exams, holidays and regulations for schools and higher education institutions. Public health measures are also in the hands of state governments and local authorities, creating an increasingly mixed picture across the country as lockdown restrictions are eased at different paces depending on local case numbers and severity of infections.

Germany is continuing to relax lockdown measures in phases. Face masks are mandatory across Germany when using public transport or in shops. Restaurants, museums, gyms and other establishments have reopened under certain conditions. A few states have turned social distancing regulations into guidelines.  

School and university closures

Primary and secondary schools and universities are reopening in stages. Reduced class sizes and distancing regulations are still in place. 

In many states, kindergartens are reopening from next week.  The most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, will also begin allowing all primary pupils back to school from next Monday (15 June).  

University applications and admissions processes for the 2020/21 intake are starting. However, there are differences across the country with regard to the approach to reopening universities. Most are expecting to teach mostly online until the end of the year, while others are saying they plan to allow students to return to campus in the autumn. Some universities are also considering a delay to the start of the winter semester.

Financial support

The federal minister for education and research has included €60 billion for research and development in the overall €130 billion federal stimulus package. The funds are to be used to invest in future technologies (e.g. hydrogen technologies), AI, climate change research, infection counter-measures and medical sciences.

Steps are being taken to ensure that trainees in Germany’s traditional dual TVET routes are able to continue and finish their training despite the pandemic and expected economic downturn. Examples include financial incentives from the federal government to companies taking on trainees from other companies that were forced to close during the pandemic or went bankrupt as a result of it. Further investment will be made to ensure enough traineeships are available in the next couple of years as this route is seen as one of the 'backbones' of Germany’s economic success.

The federal Ministry of Education has launched interest-free loans of up to €650 per month for students who are struggling financially as a result of the pandemic. It will also create a €100 million relief fund for the hardest hit students. There has, however, been continued criticism that the loans are taking too long to arrive; the first payments are to be in July when many students expect to be able to work again. The loans will also only be interest-free for a certain period of time (currently until spring 2021), after which they start to gather interest.

Examinations

Abitur (A-level equivalent) grades are to be issued from the end of June. 

Other insights: UK in the media 

There is continued coverage of the high number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the UK.

There has also been extensive coverage of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Germany, the USA and the UK.

Stalling Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU are also a regular feature in the news, with a no deal exit at the end of the year now being seen as the most likely outcome - for example, the headline in Der Spiegel, 'Fourth round without any results worth talking about'.

Contact 

For more information about Germany, please contact Ailsa Kienberger (ailsa.kienberger@britishcouncil.de).

IRELAND

Updated 9 June

As of 8 June, Ireland has moved to the second phase in lifting social distancing measures, as per the country’s roadmap but with greater reduction of restrictions than originally anticipated, including more freedom to travel.  

Negotiations to form a new government in Ireland have accelerated this week. Education, particularly higher education, is likely to be a key negotiation point. 

School and university closures 

The academic year for third level and post-primary education has ended. It has been confirmed that ‘July Provision’ (additional time in school for primary students with additional needs) will still take place this year.

Research buildings on university campuses are reopening, often in phases. 

Several universities are announcing some plans for the first term of the 2020/21 academic year, including the level of digital delivery they intend to follow, although no overall picture has emerged. 

Examinations 

Students are being awarded their end-of-school exams based on predicted grades. The process for calculating these is underway.

International students 

There are reports that some universities including Trinity College Dublin may reduce the entry requirements for students from outside the EU in order to continue to attract students. 

The Union of Students in Ireland has criticised HEIs for not agreeing a common approach to Erasmus+ and international placements for 2020/21. The varied announcements have caused confusion, according to the union.

British Council activity in Ireland

The British Council office is closed but all team members are working remotely. 

Further information 

We recommend Ninth Level Ireland (9thlevel.ie) as a very up-to-date digest of articles related to HE in Ireland, including articles with a Northern Ireland focus.

Contact 

For more information about Ireland, please contact Mags Walsh (mags.walsh@ie.britishcouncil.org).

ROMANIA

Updated 9 June

Romania extended its 'state of alert' on Tuesday, but with a new package to relax restrictions. Cases have so far remained relatively low and stable. Provided this continues, restaurants, after-school clubs, kindergartens, private schools, gyms and outdoor swimming pools may reopen from 15 June, although some government officials say that playgrounds and restaurants inside malls will remain closed.

Examinations

On 25 May, the Ministry of Education announced the 2020 Bacalaureat (final school exam for university entrance) examination calendar, together with special safety measures under which students will take the exam. The registration period for the June-July session is between 3 and 10 June and written exams will begin on 22 June. There will be no oral examinations to assess linguistic and digital skills of candidates prior the actual Bacalaureat exam this year. These skills will be assessed using a methodology developed by the Ministry of Education issued last week, and that involves calculating the mean average of the candidate's scores during their four years at high school. Candidates are then issued with a CEFRL level based on their scores as follows:

• Level A1: average between 5 and 5.99
• Level A2: average between 6 and 6.99
• Level B1: average between 7 -8.49
• Level B2: average between 8.50 and 10.

Grades for ICT or Romanian language skills for students taught in the languages of ethnic minorities will be calculated in a similar way. Assessment using this method will take place between 11 and 17 June.

The Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca is so far the first and only Romanian university to announce that they will hold their entrance exams in face-to-face, written format between 25-26 July. The institution plans to rent spaces - including outdoor spaces - for the exam to take place safely.  Overseas candidates, however, can be evaluated exclusively online. The university has reported an increase in the number of applications as their reason for raising entry requirements. See article (in Romanian) on Edupedu.ro for more information.

Contact

For more information about Romania, please contact Gabriel Ivan (gabriel.ivan@britishcouncil.ro).

SPAIN

All regions in Spain are now in the second or third phase of de-escalation of lockdown measures.

School and university closures

Schools are now open for year 13 students, students with special educational needs and early years pupils, with a variety of models of delivery (e.g. class size limitation, staggered classes) depending on region.  Plans for September are starting to shape up but there is still no consensus. The assumption is that complete normality will not be possible and schools are planning different options including rotational classes, blended online-offline learning, and classes in lunch and sports areas to guarantee social distancing and health measures.  

University summer courses are not taking place. Each university is issuing its own instructions to students regarding the start of the autumn term.  All are preparing special measures although there is a wide variety of options including fully face-to-face, blended and fully online delivery. Most universities are preparing for all three scenarios and say they will update students at the time of registration when there should be more clarity about the development of the pandemic.

Examinations

EBAU exams for access to university will mostly take place during the first week of July (dates vary by region).  Students will need to have their results in order to apply for university no later than 25 July.  Universities that require the EBAU for admissions have said that students should provide some type of certificate by the end of July.

British Council activity in Spain

On Monday, we held our first face-to-face exam session in Spain since the lockdown began, with 30 students attending in Bilbao.  

Contact

For more information about Spain, please contact Carolina Jimenez (Carolina.Jimenez@britishcouncil.es).

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES

• Bulgaria: Ivaylo.Slavov@britishcouncil.bg
• Cyprus: pantelitsa.michael@cy.britishcouncil.org 
• France: Catherine.Saracco@britishcouncil.fr  
• Germany: ailsa.kienberger@britishcouncil.de  
• Greece: Maria.Tsakali@britishcouncil.gr  
• Italy: Filomena.Casamassa@BritishCouncil.it 
• Ireland: Mags.Walsh@ie.britishcouncil.org
• Poland: Julia.Plachecka@britishcouncil.pl 
• Romania: gabriel.ivan@britishcouncil.ro
• Spain: Carolina.Jimenez@britishcouncil.es