Since early April, we have been running this update on how education systems in the EU Europe region are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. We focus on how different countries are dealing with the challenges that the virus has placed on schools and universities, including how they are managing school leavers' and university entry examinations, and the different country contexts across Europe. For more information, updates, webinars and other engagement opportunities, please see ‘Europe and education: Stay connected during Covid-19’.

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

  • Bulgaria: Current education activities continue online as cases have risen
  • France: New government introduces legislation and support packages for school and higher education
  • Germany: Loans to support worst affected students, especially for technical education and apprenticeships
  • Italy: Concerns from parents around planned staggered school timetable for September
  • Romania: Government maps different scenarios for return to school against rise in cases
  • Spain: Draft amendment to TNE regulation withdrawn, with plans for new universities law.

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

We have restarted English examinations in 30 countries in Europe. 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. 

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 27 July

Bulgaria has seen record numbers of Covid-19 cases for the country over the past few weeks and the state of alert has been extended until 31 August. This means that no further relaxation of regulations will take place (for example, masks are mandatory in all public places and there are a range of rules around organised events). A new minister of health has been appointed.

All education activities are requested to take place online with minimal exceptions for already organised events.

Contact

If you would like more information about Bulgaria, please contact Ivo Slavov (Ivaylo.Slavov@britishcouncil.bg).

FRANCE

Updated 28 July

Municipal elections were held at the end of June. A new government has been in place since 6 July with a new Prime Minister (Jean Castex), eight new ministers and a few reshuffles. The Education Ministry now includes sport in its portfolio and has two new state secretaries.
 
At the start of July, the French government introduced several new initiatives related to education: 
 
In order to cope with the high numbers of students starting university next year because of an unprecedented success rate at the baccalauréat, 30,000 new places will be created at HEIs for 2020-21, including:

  • More than 3,000 places in vocational education
  • More than 16,000 places for nursing and assistant nursing students
  • 4,000 places for first-year university students (licence)
  • More than 1,000 new apprenticeships.

In order to tackle youth unemployment as a result of the pandemic: 

  • 200,000 places will be added either for a semester or an academic year in order to allow graduates to take an extra qualifying short diploma before they go into the labour market
  • Ten new one-year diplomas (40 per cent soft skills, 40 per cent job skills, 20 per cent internship) for ten new professions 
  • Companies will be exonerated of tax if they hire a young person for one to two years
  • 300,000 'integration' contracts will be created to help young unemployed people find a job
  • 100,000 additional civic service contracts will be created to add to the existing 140,000.

In order for disadvantaged children to catch up with school (the school dropout rate during lockdown was 5 to 8 per cent, double this in disadvantaged areas), the following initiatives have been set up:

  • 'Vacances apprenantes' (learning holidays) for 1 million disadvantaged young people
  • 'Ecole ouverte apprenante' (open school) for 400,000 young people aged three to 17, offering educational, cultural and sports activities
  • 'Ecole ouverte buissonnière' (Open truant school) for 50,000 young urban kids traveling to rural areas and free 'learning' holiday camps for 550,000 young people.

School and university closures

Most French higher education institutions plan to reopen and start courses at the beginning of September. Some will organise longer welcoming sessions (with tutoring sessions, methodology sessions and campus visits) and some will postpone the start of year by one or two weeks for new entrants who did not fully complete their final year at school.

PhD thesis defence and science meetings are now allowed to take place physically.

Student financial support

The French government has introduced measures to support students struggling as a result of the pandemic:

  • €1 meals for state scholarship holders from the start of the 2020 academic year
  • A registration fee freeze for 2020
  • Scholarships indexed to inflation for students based on social criteria
  • A reinforcement of study loans guaranteed by the State for 58,000 potential beneficiaries, with an increase of the whole budget to €16 million (versus €2 million in 2019)
  • Support for apprentices working on professional projects with the implementation of mixed collective and individual modules, face-to-face and / or remotely.

Remote and online academic provision

Most French universities favour a blended scenario for the new academic year until at least mid-semester, with a mixture of distance learning and face-to-face teaching and social activities. There is pressure from some members of the higher education community to accept a 100 per cent face-to-face solution.
 
International students

Regarding French students, most HEIs have taken the decision to maintain mobility programmes with European countries (Schengen area, European Union and the UK), while advising students to postpone their actual move date to the second semester if they can. For exchanges outside Europe, many courses and institutions are fully suspending first semester. 

France has made several public declarations that international students coming to France will be welcomed wherever they come from. Student visa applications will be prioritised from 15 August. Students coming from countries with a high rate of Covid-19 will be tested either on departure or arrival and quarantined if needed.
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has adapted its scholarship scheme to pay students who are still in their home country and would find it difficult to travel to France 'so that they can start their training at a distance. It is reassuring for them to be able to start their training without delay, and for the institutions that will be able to give them the tools'. 

Contact

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

GERMANY 

Updated 27 July

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 the severity of infections.

The last days have seen a slight spike in numbers of infections, but overall indicators (e.g. no more than 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants) are still being met. The German government is in summer recess and no tightening of measures has been announced yet. A number of major investments were agreed at the eleventh hour to support and stimulate economic recovery, including a one-off €300 child bonus, temporary reduction of VAT until end of 2020, tax reductions for companies and an increase in tax exemptions for single parents. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a further €383 million to fight to end Covid-19 at the beginning of the month. The funds will go towards the development of vaccines, tests and medicines and the accessibility of these worldwide. Germany's contact-tracing 'Corona-Warn-App' has been downloaded 16 million times as of 26 July. There have been some issues with the app, particularly on older devices, but usage is still encouraged by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s public health body. Free Covid-19 tests will be offered at airports to people returning from high risk countries; a negative result will waive the need to quarantine upon return. The Federal Minister for Heath has declared that he favours targeted tests over mass testing, warning of the danger of a false sense of security that can come with negative test results.

On 1 July, Germany took over the EU Council presidency for six months with the motto, 'Emerging stronger from the crisis together – For a competitive, innovative and resilient European economy'. The presidency programme sets out ambitious objectives with a focus on competitiveness, cohesion, trade, digitisation and energy.

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.

Summer holidays are underway in all federal states. Schools in the first states return on 3 August. All states have agreed that school pupils should return to school after the summer break as long as the number of infections is low enough, with measures in place to keep new infections to a minimum. In some states, physical distancing will be suspended in classrooms, which tend to be too small for effective physical distancing.

With the assumption being that blended learning will continue for at least part of next academic year, federal states have agreed on an emergency programme for schools ('Sofortprogramm') worth approximately €550 million. This will provide schools with digital devices that they can loan to pupils and equipment to create professional online teaching services in schools. 

University applications and admissions processes for the 2020-21 intake have started.

The majority of universities are expecting to teach mostly online until the end of the year. Some are planning to allow students to return to campus in the autumn. Calls from students and professors to return to onsite teaching are getting louder.

One of the less populous states has asked its six public 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.

Examinations

Abitur (A-level equivalent) grades have been issued in all states. Results are on par with, and in some cases slightly better than previous years. The media has praised students for their resolve and resilience in dealing with the uncertainty around their exams and the Federal President has launched an online campaign with numerous celebrities congratulating school leavers on their success.

Students can decide whether to take their university exams and universities have to offer them either in person or online. One small state, Hessen, has temporarily changed its state higher education laws to ensure students, researchers and universities are not disadvantaged by the pandemic, with measures including extending time and contracts for researchers.

Financial and academic support

The €500 per month grants for June, July and August provided by the Federal Ministry of Education for students who are struggling financially as a result of the pandemic are facing criticism for being too bureaucratic and excluding certain groups of students.

One smaller state has extended the official 'standard period of study' by one semester, meaning affected students will be eligible for financial support for an extra semester.

One year interest-free student loans, conceived as another mitigation measure for students in financial need, have so far proved unpopular, although this is perhaps unsurprising given that take-up of student loans in Germany has been low for years.

The federal government has also set up a scheme to support small-to-medium enterprises that provide vocational training or apprenticeships and are considerably affected by the crisis. The core offer of the package would be a bonus for enterprises of €2,000-3,000 per trainee, coming to a total of €500 million.

Other insights: UK in the media 

There continues to be regular coverage of both Covid-19 in the UK and the stalling Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU.

In the education media there is also regular speculation about the severe financial effect that both Brexit and Covid-19 may have on UK higher education.

Contact 

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

ITALY

Updated 21 July

School and university closures

With just over a month before the planned return to school, Italy's schools have been told to guarantee 40 hours of teaching per week. However, the normal 08:30-16:30 timetable will not be possible in most cases due to space available in schools and physical distancing rules. Different solutions have been proposed, with each school deciding according to its need and ability - for example, classes could become shorter, entrances and exits could be staggered and it may be necessary to have classes on Saturdays. Each school will decide according to its needs and space available. Afternoon class sizes are also likely to be reduced and start times shifted.

The new measures are causing concern among parents, especially working parents who cannot afford to take on childcare responsibilities - particularly for younger pupils who have to be accompanied to school. There are also concerns about the time that students will have for homework or extra-curricular activities if their lessons are spread out across the day, starting early and ending late.

Contact

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

ROMANIA

Updated 21 July

Romania has numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths rise over recent weeks, reaching record numbers of over 1,000 cases a day. Relaxation of restrictions has been halted, meaning that many restrictions remain in place, and some specific locations have been placed under quarantine.

School and university closures

The Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru, described in a television interview the scenarios prepared by the authorities for students to return to school in the autumn: 'We have scenarios for an acceleration in the number of cases, but also for a decrease in a week or two, provided that people follow the rules. For example, we might have only third of the students in school at one time, while the other two thirds are be at home and studying online, and these would rotate.' 

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has also explained the multiple scenarios for school openings depending on the trajectory of cases: 'There are several options: we can open the school with all children in the class or with them starting the school in turns and do some schooling online. The government must provide tablets for children who do not have access to the internet. We need to be prepared for every scenario. The number of students in the class must be reduced, because we had too many students in classes anyway, over 30 in some cases.' 

Minister of Education, Monica Anisie, said: 'One scenario is to start normally, if there are no problems by September, but I don't think this will be the case.  If the situation is not back to normal, or if it gets worse, we are considering a continuation of online learning. The best scenario for the beginning of school in September would be for some students to be at school and others to take courses online. We all know that there are 30 students in a class, maybe even more, and as provided by the order of the Minister of Health, there must be two meters between them. This would mean that a maximum of ten students should enter a classroom at one time. The Ministry of Education, together with local public authorities, is working on solutions so that from autumn - I repeat, only if there will be a second wave, as the specialists predict - we will find a solution that does not expose students in any way.' 

There is little information on how higher education institutions will proceed in the coming academic year, either from individual universities or the sector as a whole, including no clear line on whether they will carry out any on-campus teaching. At the end of this year, regular assessment of students and graduation exams for final year have been held entirely online. Local higher education institutions have begun to enroll first-year students on their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes next year through an online admission process. This has mainly been based on results in the Baccalaureate exam rather than entrance examinations administrated by universities themselves. 

Contact

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

SPAIN

Updated 27 July

In spite of the rise in cases in locations around Spain, the plan is still to reopen schools in September.  At the same time, more and more universities are considering starting their courses online.  Early years schools opened when the state of emergency was lifted and they remain open. Summer camps are also running.  However, there is growing concern that, if the virus persists and there is a serious outbreak in the autumn, schooling will need to return to online only, which could seriously affect younger students.

A draft amendment to the universities regulation, which included important and positive amendments on TNE regulations, has been withdrawn. Instead, the Spanish Ministry of Education has announced that a new Law for Universities will be published soon.

Contact

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

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES