ESU Reacts to the OECD’s Report
19th September 2007: The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) today released it’s yearly « Education at a Glance » report.
ESU applauds the OECD’s conclusions on the positive effects of Higher Education on labour markets, economies and societies as a whole and believes the OECD makes a strong case for more access and equity in Higher Education – something ESU worked hard on promoting within the Bologna Process.
However, ESU cannot help but question the model of the university as an enterprise and the benefit of tuition fees for equity and social justice within the student body.
ESU has released its’ reaction to this report in which we, as an organisation, underline the necessity to remember to focus on student needs as the only way to increase accessibility and reduce drop-out numbers.
ESU believes that Europe should breed a knowledgeable generation with the necessary competences to be employable in the knowledge-based society. The OECD seems to insinuate that the Australian loan programs are risk free and devoid of accessibility problems, a concept which we strongly reject. Furthermore, ESU considers financing through general tax revenues as the most equitable way of paying for education as a social good.
