Parliament votes to strengthen Commission's e-learning programme
The European Parliament has voted to increase the budget of the Commission's proposed e-learning programme from 18 million to 27 million euro per year. MEPs also called for a greater emphasis on the provision of technical training to teachers. The proposed e-learning programme will run from 2004 to 2006, and aims to encourage the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into European education and training systems. In approving the proposal on 8 April in Strasbourg, MEPs made a number of amendments. Notably, the Parliament report, prepared by Italian MEP Mario Mauro, questioned the Commission's proposed budget for the programme, asking: 'Would it not be unusual [...] to spend less each year on a multi-annual programme than on the preparatory actions which preceded it?' Instead, Parliament supported Mr Mauro's suggestion that the budget for the programme itself be increased to 54 million euro over two years, and that more financial resources should be allocated to the virtual twinning, or e-twinning, of European schools. Other key amendments included a greater focus on the provision of training for teachers to enable them to be able to use ICT and the Internet in classrooms in an educationally responsible manner. 'If Europe's teachers are not equipped to make proper, realistic use of the new technologies, this will diminish the value of these instruments,' Mr Mauro stressed. MEPs also felt that it was important to include primary schools in e-twinning activities, rejecting the Commission's proposal that the programme should start with secondary schools and extend to other school levels in the future. Furthermore, they argued that funds allocated to e-twinning activities should be equally split between primary and secondary schools. In a separate vote, Parliament also approved the Commission's intention to create a global version of the Erasmus programme for higher education. 'Erasmus World', as the Commission calls the programme, would extend the promotion of intercultural understanding within universities beyond the EU to third countries. The Parliament approved the scheme, but suggested that it be called 'Erasmus Mundus'.