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: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, France, Romania and Spain.

  • Bulgaria: Education ministry advises schools and universities to continue working online until end of academic year.
  • Cyprus: Pancyprian exams to end on 26 June, with results due 10 July.
  • France: State scholarship administrators consider how to deliver scholarships to international students who cannot attend start of year.
  • Germany: Calls for full return to schools in new academic year met with concerns from some officials.
  • Italy: Maturita exams are under way - our update explains the system for assessment this year.
  • Romania: Bacalaureat exams underway; National Assessment exams completed last week.
  • Spain: Options for return to school in new academic year discussed.

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

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). 

BULGARIA

Updated 23 June

School and university closures

On 22 June the Bulgarian Minister of Healthcare issued an ordinance stating that education institutions are required to work online until 30 June, with some exceptions where physical presence is allowed in schools and on university campuses. These exceptions include end-of-academic year activities, specialised practices (such as tutoring and assessment) and preparation for the next academic year, and only when it is impossible to run these activities online or remotely. It is down to the head of the institution (e.g. the headteacher or rector) to organise activities in strict adherence to all Covid-19 measures.

Based on this ordinance, the Ministry of Education and Science has advised universities to finish this academic year online, including exams, thesis defences and graduation. The same principle applies to the start of the new cycle for entry exams and the application and admission process. Exceptions in each university vary depending on subject, as some require physical presence, for example lab workshops, practices, exams and thesis defences in some STEM programmes. Each university is responsible for organising measures such as disinfection, personal protection (masks, shields, gloves) and proper distancing.

Contact

For more information about Bulgaria, please contact Ivo Slavov (Ivaylo.Slavov@britishcouncil.bg).

CYPRUS

Updated 23 June

Cyprus is lifting its lockdown and has laid out policies to restart its tourism sector with testing and quarantine measures based on where visitors arrive from. Checkpoints have been open between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities since 21 June, with all citizens required to be tested within 72 hours before crossing.

School and university closures

The current academic year for primary schools has been extended until 26 June and the new one is expected to start at the beginning of September (a week earlier than usual).

Nurseries have been operating since the beginning of June.

Examinations

Pancyprian examinations (for school leavers, required for university admission) will be completed on Friday 26 June and results are expected to be published on 10 July. Places at state Cypriot universities are expected to be announced by the end of July and places for Greek universities in August.

IELTS examination sessions have restarted and students can register to take their IELTS test on the British Council website.

Contact

For more information about Cyprus, please contact Pantelitsa Michael (pantelitsa.michael@cy.britishcouncil.org).

FRANCE

Updated 23 June

On Sunday 14 June the French President announced further de-confinement measures. The Paris region was designated a green zone with a substantial easing of restrictions. This is part of an EU-wide easing of restrictions; Schengen borders reopened on 15 June and many non-EU borders will open from 1 July. France has now lifted entry restrictions for arrivals from the European area (UK, EU, Schengen) and the previous requirement of an international attestation for entry into France has also been lifted. From 1 July, travel from countries outside Europe which have the virus under control will also be permitted. Arrivals from the UK and outside the European Area are asked to voluntarily self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, while quarantine is only compulsory for those arriving with Covid-19 symptoms. 

Large gatherings are still banned, but bars, restaurants and cinemas are able to open indoor spaces all over France. Professional group contact sports can take place, although not amateur contact sports. Night clubs will remain closed until September.

School and university closures

Lycées (upper secondary) are open only to host individual interviews for students. Nurseries and schools (primary and lower secondary) are now fully open for the last two weeks of the school year and attendance is mandatory. Many measures have been relaxed, including the four-metre space between students, which has been reduced to one metre.

Higher education institutions remain closed.

Organisers of national and international conferences are recommended to limit participant numbers and to favour online meetings.

Student financial support

Applications for state-funded, needs-tested bursaries for French students have been extended until July for those having to take their final exams or competitive exams later than 30 June.

The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and Campus France are working together to see whether French state scholarships for international students starting in the coming 2020-21 academic year can be issued and transferred into students' bank accounts before they physically arrive in France.

Remote and online academic provision

All French HEIs are planning for three main scenarios for the new academic year:

  • Back to normal
  • Face-to-face learning but with restrictions on numbers of students at one time
  • Distance learning in the case of a reconfinement.

Examples of solutions to some of these scenarios include double campuses (Sciences-PO) or a full face-to-face teaching pattern with lectures being repeated (Normandy Universities).

A new national catalogue of all distance learning courses will be put online in June by Campus France to reassure international students in case they cannot attend the start of the year in person.

International students

All international students' visas and residence permits will be treated as a priority, whatever their country of origin, according to a joint announcement on 12 June by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Home Office.

The deadline for French higher education institutions to send an offer to all applying international students has been postponed to 1 July for all new entrants registering for their first year at a higher education institution (L1), and to 6 July for all the others. Candidates have until 10 July to respond (as opposed to the usual 30 June).

The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESRI) is envisaging the creation of a small number of connected campuses abroad.

Other insights

Communication from higher education institutions has played a major role during the pandemic, and many have made big changes to their methods of communication, according to an article from Education Newstank France (access to the article may be restricted).

  • More communication on social media to adapt to students preferred mode of communication
  • Comms, previously seen as a support function, has become a strategic function at many universities
  • Collaborative communications with Campus France and its attractiveness programme 'Choose France' has been very important for institutions alongside individual institution communications as part of giving a unified and reassuring message to international students about the overall situation in the country
  • University presidents have participated in media training
  • Some institutions have decided to create newsrooms; some have organised successful online press conferences aimed at different target groups of press (local press, international press, etc.); some have moved to strategies of almost entirely digital communication

An Ifop-Canevet survey published on 27 May showed that among the 20 per cent of students who planned to study abroad next year, half had given up their plans because of Covid-19 concerns or the consequences of the pandemic in their host country.

Contact

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

GERMANY 

Updated 22 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. 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. Most stick to 1.5m distancing rules, however. In some areas of the country increased relaxation of measures have led to the occasional flare up in cases (including an incident at a meat-processing plant). When this has occurred, quarantine regulations in the immediate vicinity are being tightened in the midst of a general loosening of measures.

School and university closures

Primary and secondary schools and universities have partially reopened with reduced class sizes and distancing regulations. In all states, kindergartens have reopened. 

The summer holidays are staggered in the 16 states, with holidays in Berlin and three other states starting first, in one week’s time. Many states are planning voluntary face-to-face 'summer school' programmes to support students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to catch up on content they might have missed during the period of online teaching because they might not have had the technological or other means to access content and fully participate in classes.

All federal states have agreed that pupils should return to school after the summer break (primary and secondary) partially under pre-Covid conditions. For example, social distancing would not be required, but other measures would be taken to avoid and contain new infections, with proposals including having groups of pupils attending one week of school in person and one at home. However, the recent rise in overall infection figures has caused the prime minister of one of the biggest federal states, Baden-Württemberg, and the federal minister of education to publicly doubt that such a policy will be possible.

University applications and admissions processes for the 2020-21 intake are starting. There are differences across the country with regard to the approach to reopening universities. The majority are expecting to teach mostly online until the end of the year, while others are planning to allow students to return to campus in the autumn. Some universities are also considering a delayed start to the winter semester.

Professors across the country have signed an open letter petitioning for a return of face-to-face teaching at universities. Other groups, including school leavers and politicians, are also advocating a quick return to face-to-face teaching at universities.

Examinations

Abitur (A-level equivalent) grades are currently being issued. The exact date depends upon the federal state; Berlin is issuing results now, while others may only receive them in July. 

University students can decide themselves if they want to take their university exams or not. This means, of course, that universities have to offer them. Some HEIs are renting huge exhibition halls in order to comply with social distancing regulations, while others are moving the majority of their exams online, sometimes using online proctoring services.

One of the less populous states has asked its six publicly funded universities to return some of the agreed increase in their budgets for the years 2022-24 to the state government in order to offset the Covid-19-related budget deficit. 

Student 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. Most of these funds will be directed to the non-university research institutes, a move which has caused concern among university leaders.

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. 

Other insights: UK in the media 

There is continued coverage of the high number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the UK as well as the economic impact and the government’s reaction.

Stalling Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU are also a regular feature in the news. The former German ambassador to the UK gave a widely quoted interview last week urging the German public not to look down on the UK and saying that he is hopeful that a deal is still possible. See the article in Der Spiegel (in German).

Contact 

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

ITALY

School and university closures

Italy's minister for university and research, Gaetano Manfredi, announced that September will see the restart of classes and the return of students to universities. So far only 17 universities have opened for face-to-face exams in July. 

Examinations

Middle school leaving exams ended last week. Final grades take nto account the presentation of an essay written by the students on a topic agreed upon together with their teachers. 

The Esame di Maturitá (A-level equivalent) started on Wednesday 17 June and is still in progress. They consist of a one-hour oral exam, to take place in person at school, which will account for 40 per cent of the student's exam, with the previous school career worth a maximum of 60 per cent. Credits obtained in the previous years will be recalibrated to reflect the new evaluation system. The exam will take place in the presence of a committee consisting of one external member (President of the Commission) and six internal members. The candidate will start by presenting an essay followed by a question concerning the school subject (Greek or Latin for classical studies or mathematics and physics for scientific studies).  The candidate will then talk about their experience on their schoolwork project (Progetto Alternanza Scuola Lavoro) during their school cycle. The last step will focus on citizenship and Covid-19 pandemic.

British Council activity

Last week we started our first face-to-face exam sessions in Italy. In June we plan to deliver 17 IELTS and Cambridge English sessions in Milan and 12 in Rome. 

British Council offices in Italy remain closed to the public throughout the month of June.

Contact

For more information about Italy, please contact Filomena Casamassa (Filomena.Casamassa@BritishCouncil.it).

ROMANIA

Updated 23 June

Romanian authorities have issued a 'green list' of 22 European countries; travellers who arrive in Romania from countries on the list and who have no Covid-19 symptoms no longer have to stay in quarantine or home isolation for two weeks. Regular flights to and from these countries resumed on 23 June. The list includes Italy, France (mainland) and Ireland. The USA, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium are not on the list.

Examinations

The bacalaureat exam for university entrance is underway this week, with the last written tests due to take place on 26 June. Final results of the Baccalaureate will be published on 5 July. Students' temperatures were checked on entry to the exam; according to a statement made yesterday by the School Inspectorate of Bucharest, no students with a temperature above 37.3 degrees were reported at the Romanian Language and Literature test within the baccalaureate exam on Monday.

The National Assessment examination for entry into the final years of school took place last week. Around 98 per cent of students who enrolled in the exam took part In Bucharest, out of a total of 16,004 students enrolled, 15,782 candidates were present. A second special session will be organised in July for a handful of students across the country who did not pass health checks on entry to the examination room (for example, because they had a temperature above 37.3 degrees celsius). The School Inspectorate of Bucharest has published data showing that 224 National Assessment candidates in Bucharest had an overall average of 10 (the top score), compared with last year when only 48 students in Bucharest obtained an average of 10. No students were eliminated due to fraud attempts in Bucharest. Appeals were due by 23 June and final results will be published on 27 June.

Contact

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

SPAIN

Spain has come out of lockdown except for small pockets of the country where there are isolated outbreaks.  Spain is still in a 'state of alert' and the latest decree on 10 June established new measures for the 'new normal' until 'a vaccine or an effective treatment against Covid-19 is found'.  'New normal' measures were implemented in all regions on 11 June, with the exception of Madrid and a few other small areas. The measures include reducing social distancing to 1.5m (from 2m);  obligatory use of face masks in public spaces; free movement within Spain; a requirement for transport companies to keep passengers’ info for up to four weeks for tracking and tracing purposes; home working where possible; secure testing and medicine stocking; and the Ministry of Health will retain some special powers to deal with serious outbreaks. 

School and university closures

The school year ends this week in Spain, although schools only returned for two to three weeks in the best cases and one to two weeks in regions that entered descalation later.  The Ministry of Education is discussing reopening schools in September with the devolved administrations, and a number of measures are on the table, such as:

  • 20 children per classroom
  • 1.5 metre distancing
  • Use of face masks for ten-year old students and over when not sitting at their desks
  • Regular disinfection of common areas (e.g. toilets disinfected three times a day)
  • Airing of classrooms (windows open where possible) and use of common spaces and even playground spaces
  • Every school will draft a plan to deal with potential outbreaks

Universities are autonomous and they are taking different measures. However, the Ministry of Education's recommendation is to offer a mix of online and face-to-face tuition on a rota basis for students.

Contact

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

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES