Only a few weeks ago, the highest authority for decisions of
the European Students Union (ESU) - The Board, composed of 47 national student
unions from 39 countries - adopted a resolution calling for scrapping the idea
of introducing a European Masters Guarantee Scheme Stage the loan.
Earlier on ESU had voiced serious concerns about this new tool included in the new Erasmus for All proposal as part of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-20. ESU detailed position on the scheme can be found here.
The ESU has a clear policy preferring grants as a means of helping students over loans. This is related to our firm belief that higher education is a social responsibility that should receive public financial support.
At the end of the day, the benefits of a highly educated population exceeds normal economic rationale for the training of skilled labor as the most generally more educated society is more equal society.
Earlier on ESU had voiced serious concerns about this new tool included in the new Erasmus for All proposal as part of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-20. ESU detailed position on the scheme can be found here.
The ESU has a clear policy preferring grants as a means of helping students over loans. This is related to our firm belief that higher education is a social responsibility that should receive public financial support.
At the end of the day, the benefits of a highly educated population exceeds normal economic rationale for the training of skilled labor as the most generally more educated society is more equal society.
Mobility goal of 20%
But aside ideological battle for a moment and return to the proposal we now have on the table.
First, let's talk about the numbers. There is an ongoing struggle for every euro that should be spent on the new Erasmus for All program.
We of course welcome the increased budget in the new MFF, but we also would like to clarify that we see it as tracking what education ministers of the European Union (EU) have agreed on before - creating a base for comparison with that by 2020 at least 20% of students had not experienced a period of study abroad.
Therefore, we find that it is perfectly reasonable that higher education is relatively longer than in previous years. It is also crucial if we are to engage with the objectives of the social dimension of EU programs, such as by linking subsidies to the destination of study.
Loan guarantee is set to receive approximately 5% of the total budget for Erasmus for All. But if we do a simple arithmetic exercise and try to see how much it would mean proportionally education part of the budget, higher loan scheme will register about 10% of the total.
The scheme can be optional for students to use, but in terms of the added cost is simply too high.
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