EDUCATION : COMMISSION CALLS FOR IMPROVED QUALITY CHECKS.

• Position: Brief article

The European Commission is urging member states to upgrade quality checks in universities and vocational training institutions. Highlighting conclusions from two reports, published on 28 January, it calls for checks that favour content over a box-ticking approach. "Quality assurance is the basis for building trust in our education systems and we need to make greater use of its potential as a catalyst to modernise our universities and vocational education colleges. Our aim is to drive up standards in a way that encourages diversity and employability rather than uniformity," said Androulla Vassiliou, commissioner for education, culture, multilingualism and youth.

The two reports emphasise the importance of developing, improving and evaluating the quality of training systems, as well as making the results available to the...