50 signatures reached
To: Gavin Williamson MP, Secretary of State for Education
Don't leave the Erasmus+ programme!
Enter negotiations immediately for the UK's involvement in the Erasmus programme cycle 2021-2027. Full UK access to all Key Actions of the programme may become difficult if this is not negotiated prior to the end of the current cycle.
Why is this important?
Having a Brexit deal agreed may have seemed like an early Christmas present to some when the Government announced on Christmas Eve that an agreement had been reached with the EU, but to any students who were hoping to go on an international mobility as part of their degree it's a kick in the face.
Boris Johnson, according to the EU, “decided” that the UK would not be involved in the EU's Erasmus programmes going forward. This, despite the wonderful opportunities it brings for British and European students to experience another culture, learn a language or other valuable new skills and further their career prospects.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-deal-erasmus-eu-university-exchange-b1778667.html
Instead, the UK will be setting up a new programme named after Alan Turing. No doubt this will continue to provide similar benefits, most likely within Commonwealth countries and other close international partners such as the USA, but such a programme could take years to fully set up. With the wealth and variety of programmes the Erasmus+ scheme currently offers, this move risks a generation of students missing out on the opportunity to study abroad. It also puts another barrier in the way of talented and highly qualified workers from outside of the UK choosing to come and work and contribute to the British economy after the positive experience that an Erasmus+ placement brings for so many.
I spent a year in Murcia, Spain, last year as part of my degree in History and Spanish. It's a cliché, but it was truly the making of me – I matured so much as a person and my Spanish improved enormously. Having the chance to explore the subjects I wanted in a more relaxed context also clarified to me where I wanted to take my studies after getting back to the UK. I honestly don't know where I would be right now without having spent that year in Spain.
To think that students in years to come won't have the same opportunity absolutely breaks my heart. Erasmus+ is more than just a study programme, it's a community and it's memories you'll keep for a lifetime. The UK leaving the scheme (which is open to non-EU countries as well, and is expected to be extended further in the new cycle) doesn't just deny others the opportunity I had, but it also means I won't be able to get funding for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree I was hoping to apply for, which would have allowed me to study and gain priceless work experience in three different countries, giving me international and inter-disciplinary insight that I would never be able to access otherwise.
The Erasmus scheme also provides extra financial support for students from a disadvantaged background, as well as those with medical needs or disabilities. For the next cycle of the programme, from 2021-2027, the programme budget will be doubled to extend opportunities even further for underprivileged students.
For people from a working-class background like myself, these opportunities are now being shut off. This goes beyond spending a fun year with friends in a different country – this is another of the barriers the Conservative government are putting in place to prevent less privileged people having access to the same opportunities as their privately-educated children.
The House of Lords produced a report in 2019 expressing concern that a new British scheme would struggle to offer the same benefits as Erasmus+, and has warned that leaving the programme would be a backward step away from the Government's long-term equality targets. The Government's then-Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Chris Skidmore, said in the report that the value of the UK's participation in Erasmus+ went beyond money, and reflected experience gained over "30 years' worth of ties."
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldeucom/283/283.pdf
Now, it seems, those priorities have changed, due to a budget increase that was intended to help our least privileged young people, all while Boris Johnson has bickered with the EU over the rights of multinational companies to retain access to the EU's big-money markets. Will you sign this petition and challenge the Government to show their intent to build for the future by putting education first?
