World Children's Day

21.11.2013

Question for written answer E-013234-13
to the Commission
Rule 117
Alexander Alvaro (ALDE)

Children of school age should attend school. They have a right to attend school and learn in a context appropriate to their age and abilities. Society is failing those children who, instead of learning, are forced, sometimes by their own parents, to work or beg.

20 November is World Children’s Day.

In its ‘Education Benchmarks for Europe’, the Commission collects data on those who leave education and training early. Numbers are but one side of the coin.

Has the Commission identified and taken steps to disseminate best practices among Member States on how to deal with this problem?

Does the Commission’s data differentiate between early school leavers and children who regularly do not attend school even if their age means that schooling is compulsory?

In February 2011 the Commission published ‘An EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child’ with 11 priority actions to be taken to improve children’s lives.

What action does the Commission recommend to enable children from particularly difficult environments (migration, poverty, unaccompanied or separated minors) to participate in the education system?

Has the Commission identified and taken steps to disseminate best practices as regards preventing parents or guardians from using children for begging so as to enable these children to attend school?

OJ C 237, 22/07/2014