Erasmus+ mid-term evaluation reports published
By Aoileann Ní Bhroin
The European Commission has adopted the mid-term evaluation report of the Erasmus+ programme and its predecessor programmes, accompanied by a staff working document. This evaluation builds particularly on the national reports submitted by all programme countries and the evaluation reports of the external independent contractor (ICF), which are now all published together on the Europa website.
With this report, the Commission makes a clear case for a stronger investment in education, training and learning mobility. Overall, the evaluation shows that all evaluated programmes have proved highly effective. Erasmus+ is seen as being more valued by the general public, more coherent, relevant and partly more efficient than its predecessors. Building on the suggestions in the national reports and taking into account the recommendations made by the external evaluator, the Commission puts forward proposals to adjust the implementation of the current programme to help unleash its full potential by 2020, as well as considering suggestions for improvements in view of a successor programme.
In order to create a European Education Area, it will be important to invest more in learning mobility, in particular among school pupils, vocational education and training participants and youth, and make the successor programme to Erasmus+ even more inclusive by reaching out to the most vulnerable learners and smaller organisations.
