Slovakia Recent developments The prerequisites for adult education in Slovakia are changing. The Ministry of Education, with their subsidiary “National Life-long Learning institute”, have set out to create a new system for continuing education and counselling for adults, funded by the European Social Fund and with the aim of raising the quality of adult education. EAEA members say that early indications point towards more funding opportunities staying within the departmental institutions of the ministries: In the first months of 2013 fourteen national projects worth 238 million euros were launched. The Ministry of Education reserved these projects for different project opportunities – several directly related to non-formal adult education. They will surely influence the shape of adult education in Slovakia. EAEA member AIVD sent out a survey to its members, asking about the awareness of the new initiatives and 62 % learned about the changes through the information provided in the actual survey material.
Future focus Our survey answers tell us that there is a worry, among adult education providers that too much focus is put on foreign funding like the European Social Fund. One respondent says that it is as if everything starts again from scratch, whenever there is new funding coming in. The new strategy (the system for continuing education and counselling for adults) with funding will last until 2015. What happens then? There is a need to advocate for a more coherent and long-term approach for adult education policy – to do that, adult education stakeholders must be brought together in a more organised way. Furthermore, the public’s views on non-formal education as well as recognition of non-formal learning are also areas that need future attention.
The Impact of PIAAC EAEA members say they’ve put the PIAAC results to good use in campaigns and as advocacy tools. They were also presented during the annual lifelong learning week.
Member outlook Our members say that Slovakia needs reliable, stable funding opportunities – both for adult education providers and adult education participants – creating new possibilities for learning. If this does not happen, our members foresee the gap between the highly skilled and those with insufficient competences increasing. There is a need to move from a reliance on initial education towards fostering lifelong, skills-oriented learning. Public investment in infrastructure for adult education should be adequate, our members say.
45 Adult Education in Europe 2014 – A Civil Society View