This post is to keep UK institutions updated on disruptions across the EU Europe region caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is part of Europe and education: Stay connected during Covid-19, our regional programme of updates, webinars and other engagement opportunities helping you respond to the impact of the virus on potential European students.

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

  • Cyprus: Final year students to return to school in mid- to late-May to prepare for Pancyprian exams
  • France: Schools to reopen in stages from 11 May, most higher education exams cancelled while prépa for Grandes Ecoles rescheduled
  • Germany: Schools beginning to reopen from this week, Abitur taking place under social distancing conditions with results due on schedule
  • Greece: Schools will start to reopen from 11 May, though announcements on exam dates are pending
  • Italy: Schools to open only for students to take oral part of final exams; government pledges to recruit 60,000 teachers next year
  • Poland: Matura rescheduled for June, with results after 30 September; government introduces student loan repayment support scheme for those affected by virus
  • Romania: Students taking significant exams to return to schools 2-12 June, with National Assessment starting 15 June and Baccalaureate starting 22 June

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. 

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). 

CYPRUS

Updated 28 April

Restrictions in Cyprus are expected to be eased gradually, with the first phase starting from 4 May and second phase from 25 May.

School and university closures

Online classes for secondary and tertiary education students have restarted after the two-week Easter break. A more systematic approach is now being taken for primary school students, especially those in lower grades who are not yet attending online classes but are receiving teaching material electronically or by post.

As part of the relaxation of restrictions, the government plans for final year Lyceum students to return to school in mid to late May to prepare for the Pancyprian final examinations.

Examinations

The Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Education (CYQAA) has declared that higher education institutions can apply to offer students alternative methods of assessment, which should be aligned with the guidelines and standards of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). Institutions can apply for different kinds of assessment depending on the nature of each course they offer, the infrastructure of the institution and the specific requirements of students. Tertiary education institutions and universities are encouraged to complete examinations within the current academic cycle using any of the suggested alternative assessment methods possible. Universities and tertiary education institutions have already updated their students on the new examination timetable and delivery mode of their exams.

Examinations for lower and upper secondary students have been cancelled this year apart from Pancyprian examinations taken by final year Lyceum students. These will be sat in the usual pen-and-paper format. Pancyprian candidates will be examined only on the curriculum covered in face-to-face lessons before lockdown.

Private schools are following instructions from examination boards in terms of their school examinations. There is no clarity for students at private tutoring institutes or for students who have registered to take A-level examinations through private institutes.

Contact

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

FRANCE

Updated 28 April

France is due to begin lifting some restrictions after 11 May. Some shops will be allowed to open under strict conditions. However, travel will be restricted to within 100km of the home and gatherings of more than ten people will be forbidden in public or in private. All events of more than 5,000 people have been banned until September at the earliest. A decision will be taken at the end of May on whether to start reopening restaurants and bars, with suggestions that some may begin to reopen after 2 June depending on circumstances.

School and university closures

Schools will start to reopen in waves from 11 May on a voluntary basis for teachers and pupils. Nursery and primary schools will reopen first, region by region and class by class. Lower secondary schools (collèges) will reopen from 18 May, but only in regions with low incidence of the virus. The reopening of higher secondary schools (lycées) is still being discussed, with a decision due to be taken at the end of May.

Children in primary schools will not have to wear masks, but masks will be obligatory for secondary school pupils. Children may be asked to eat in their classrooms at lunchtime rather than in the school canteen and no more than 15 people will be allowed in a classroom at one time. Contingencies are being discussed at local level.

Examinations

In a speech on 13 April, President Macron declared that higher education institutions will remain closed until September. Competitive entrance exams to higher education institutions have mostly been cancelled with selection now based on continuous assessment. However, entrance exams to the Grandes Ecoles (top national universities), which take place after a two-year intensive preparation course called prépa, have now been rescheduled to take place between 20 June and 7 August, based only on written assessments. All oral exams have been cancelled except for at the Ecole Polytechnique, the most prestigious engineering school in France which is also very international.

All PhD and postdoc candidates have been allowed to extend their research and contracts for a maximum of a year and funding has been released to accompany this extension

British Council activity in France

Our office in Paris will progressively reopen from 11 May, starting with customer services staff and exams and teaching centre operations. All other staff are asked to continue working from home or have been furloughed on the French equivalent scheme.

In France, we are suggesting that students consider the IELTS indicator test, a new academic online version of IELTS that gives candidates the opportunity to prove their level of English on a provisional basis. The test does not replace the standard face-to-face IELTS test, but it does test the four competencies and a number of universities in the UK are currently accepting it as a temporary indication of English ability for candidates during lockdown period. 

We are considering extending the deadline of our Alliance programme, which funds the mobility of Franco-British joint research projects, beyond its current deadline of 4 May. This is in part because of furloughing schemes in France and the UK.

Contact

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

GERMANY

Updated 27 April

Important note: Education in Germany is largely devolved to the 16 federal states. This means there are differences in dates of exams and holidays. However, general principles in response to Covid-19 have been agreed Germany-wide.

Overall, Germany has relaxed some of its tight rules over the last couple of weeks (e.g. some shops reopening). New regulations came into force between 20 and 27 April depending on the decision of the individual state and how hard hit the area is or has been by the virus. However, the federal government plans to monitor the situation closely and if cases increase again the lockdown rules will be re-tightened. Meanwhile, calls are growing for the government to ease regulations further (e.g. allow restaurants and hotels to reopen and get all children back to school).

Germany is continuing to test extensively and is considering voluntary and anonymous use of tracking apps. Face masks are mandatory across Germany when using public transport and in most states for shopping too.

School and university closures

Schools are reopening in stages. Primary and secondary schools and universities which have been closed since mid-March are scheduled to resume operations gradually, starting this week.

Selected year groups – either those with upcoming exams (e.g. year ten and nine or A-level equivalent students) or those who are due to transition from primary to secondary in the autumn – will be the first to return to school partially, under strict social distancing conditions and with reduced class sizes. Teaching for these groups will be a mix of face-to-face and home schooling.

The university summer semester started in many places on 20 April, but teaching is being delivered almost exclusively online. Exact semester start dates differ across the federal states and most universities will start in the next few weeks.

Research at universities and research institutes is taking place under strict conditions. Libraries and archives can also operate if they adhere to social distancing rules.

Examinations

Abitur (A-level equivalent) exams are currently taking place under strict social distancing conditions, with limited group sizes. Results are still scheduled to be released before the start of the summer break (between the end of June and the end of July depending on the state and staggered school holiday dates).

University exams are permitted under strict regulations but some have been postponed and there has been an increase in online examinations (e.g. through remote invigilation).

Online and remote education provision

Remote teaching is taking place across the country, although there is still a mixed picture in terms of the capability of schools and teachers to deliver lessons remotely (e.g. internet access, availability of suitable platforms, individual skills of teachers). Provision varies from parents being sent PDFs of the week’s work plan for their children to videoconference-assisted group learning sessions (especially for older pupils).

Key workers such as doctors, nurses, teachers and supermarket staff are being offered emergency childcare, and i the past week, the definition of 'key workers' eligible for this scheme has been expanded.

Support for students

The German Rectors Conference and DAAD are calling for financial support for students struggling either because they are unable to work or because their parents can no longer support them due to Coronavirus. BAföG (the main German state-sponsored student support scheme) will continue to be paid even if students currently cannot attend their course or training programme.

The federal education ministry is also launching a scheme to support schoolchildren from low-income families with €150 grants to buy mobile devices such as tablets so they can engage in distance learning.

Other insights: Media

German media continues to focus first and foremost on the situation in Germany overall and in different parts of the country, then the USA, the reopening of China and the situation in Sweden.

There is still regular coverage of the situation in the UK, such as articles on the perceived mismanagement of the crisis by the UK government and the NHS struggling to cope. On Monday, DIE ZEIT, an important weekly broadsheet that is widely read in higher education circles, ran an article in its online edition about the funding challenges facing universities in the UK, US and Australia as a result of the drop in international students.

Contact

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

GREECE

Updated 28 April

School and university closures

On 28 April, in a televised speech that came 37 days after the Greek government imposed lockdown, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled a plan for the gradual lifting of restrictions. This included the announcement that schools will gradually open from 11 May, starting with students from the senior class of the lykeio.

Examinations

Greek Education Minister Niki Kerameus is expected to present details on 29 April about the government plan to gradually reopen schools including primary schools, higher education institutions, language and preparatory schools. She is also expected to announce the ministry’s plans about the dates of the national examinations (pan-hellenics) later this summer. The current position at time of writing is that the exams will take place during the last two weeks of June and the first two of July.

Final year university students are also expecting announcements as to whether their summer examination period will still be in July or whether it will be deferred to early September. This is a critical decision that may affect those who have applied for postgraduate studies for this autumn.

Contact

For more information about Greece, please contact Maria Tsakali (maria.tsakali@britishcouncil.gr).    

ITALY

Updated 27 April

School and university closures and examinations

Schools and universities across Italy will remain closed this year and only reopen in September. One possible exception currently under review is that schools will reopen in June for the oral part of the Esame di Maturitá (final exams), as this still needs to be taken by candidates in person. The Minister of Education is working on this with the technical-scientific committee, with a decision expected in the next few days.

Prime Minister Conte made a speech to the nation on 26 April announcing phase two of the lockdown. He stated that he has never stopped thinking about schools and measures to support families, and that the government will aim to recruit 60,000 new teachers for the next school year.

Higher education institution are deciding individually how to deal with examinations and final degree awarding, attempting to use remote conferencing wherever possible and adhering to health and safety measures.

Online and remote education provision

As part of the National Plan for Digital Schools, the Ministry of Education has established a network of digital experts to support schools in setting up distance learning. The Ministry has also set up a webpage dedicated to virtual learning, which offers schools a range of tools including best practice exchanges and twinning arrangements with other institutions, training webinars, multimedia content and certified platforms for distance learning.

There have been reports of connectivity issues due to the massive use on online platforms by teachers and students. In addition, research has found that a third of Italian families does not have a PC or tablet. The Ministry is looking to secure additional laptops and tablets through extra funding.

The Government is working with state broadcaster RAI to deliver TV and online school programmes to students of all ages from primary to high school. There are four dedicated channels.

Contact

For more information about Italy, please contact Filomena Casamassa (filomena.casamassa@britishcouncil.it).  

POLAND

Updated 28 April

Poland went into lockdown comparatively early, and the government has now declared that the situation seems relatively under control. On 20 April, Poland entered the first of four stages of a planned return to a ‘new normality’. In May, shopping malls, furniture stores and hotels will start to reopen, although strict restrictions on all aspects of public life will remain in place.

Every week, Poland’s Prime Minister and Minister of Health hold a joint press conference and up-to-date information is shared on social media and the Polish government website. Announcements are made less regularly by the Polish Ministries of Science and Higher Education and the Polish Ministry of Education.

School and university closures

University instruction will be held online until 24 May. Research is being conducted without disruption.

Examinations

On 24 April, a new schedule for final exams in Poland was announced by the Central Examination Board. Only written examinations will be held this year and new dates have been announced for the ‘Matura’ – the secondary and technical school leaving examination and university admission examination.

Matura exams will now take place over three weeks starting from 8 June. Results of corrective Matura exams will not be released before 30 September. This may mean that the start date of the 2020-21 academic year is postponed in Poland to give graduates more time to choose their courses.

Student finance

The Polish government has stated that students who have problems repaying loans due to the pandemic may postpone repayments by up to 12 months or receive a reduction on their installment repayments up to 20 per cent of monthly income.

The Mieczysław Bekker Scholarship Programmme (Program Stypendialny im. Mieczysława Bekkera) coordinated by NAWA (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange) is a scheme of post-doctoral and research scholarships for excellent students to attend universities abroad. It is open for applications until 18 June 2020.

In Poland, many universities have introduced their own schemes to support Polish and foreign students with issues such as dormitory payments. In many cases these will be reduced proportional to the period of student absence.

Contact

For more information about Poland, please contact Julia Plachecka (Julia.Plachecka@britishcouncil.pl).

ROMANIA

Updated 28 April

The current state of emergency in Romania is due to end on 15 May. The government has suggested that some restrictions could begin to be lifted after this date, depending on how incidences of the virus develop in the country. However, President Klaus Iohannis stated on 28 May that gatherings in groups of more than three would still be prohibited after 15 May, restaurants and malls would remain closed and travel beyond a person's locality would still only be allowed in exceptional cases.

School and university closures

The national school year end date has not changed from 12 June. Schools and universities were suspended in March when the state of emergency was declared and lessons and courses have moved to remote or online provision.

On 27 April, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stated that his government had decided that ‘most classes at kindergartens, schools and universities will not resume’ and ‘pupils and students will not physically return to their classes’.

However, students in the eighth, 12th and 13th grade – the final years of middle school and high school – will be able to return to school for two weeks between 2-12 June for preparation classes and to sit their final exams, with a maximum of ten pupils to a classroom and spending no more than three hours at school. The president stated that exams would be organised ‘respecting very strict rules of social distancing’ - for example, candidates will need to use different corridors to enter and leave the room and will have their temperature checked on arrival.  Attendance will remain the decision of parents, and will not be necessary for students who have health problems or who live with family members in high risk groups.

Immediately after the president’s announcement on 27 May, Romanian Minister of Education Monica Anisie announced that the National Assessment 2020 (i.e. graduation exam taken by all students at the end of the eighth grade) will be held from 15 June and the Baccalaureate exam will start on 22 June. Written tests will be followed by competency tests, which include oral tests For students not in their final years, distance learning activities should focus on reviewing material that has not been reviewed in the last month rather than teaching new content. 

The Ministry of Education is developing guides for each subject so that content not covered this year can be addressed next school year.

All students will have their end-of-year grades calculated from at least two grades in every subject from the first two semesters of the year. Students are not required to submit any written assignments for grading for the current semester. The Ministry of Education will review exceptional situations, for example if a student does not have two grades, on a case-by-case basis.

Higher education students will continue their courses online, and exams can be taken online. Every university will establish the manner and date of its exams.

Contact

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

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES