by MICHAEL TOLENTINO and NEVENA VUKSANOVIC
Employability has to be regarded as a concept that is outside of the economic growth bubble. Higher education should not be steered by the labour market, but by the needs of society. Higher education is a human right and, as such, it must be available to everyone.
The European Students’ Union, or ESU, recommends that our whole society come together with regard to higher education development. There is not only one organisation responsible for the global development of higher education. ESU sees the development of higher education as a puzzle that will be completed only when everyone gives their best, impartial contributions.
Consensus
Current trends in higher education have opened up a debate on the future of higher education, which should be based on a deep discussion of the values and priorities of the society we live in.
In order to reach consensus and an objective view, it is immensely important to focus on cooperation among all actors instead of debates on who is competent to speak about higher education and who is not.
ESU believes that higher education is a public good and a public responsibility. Therefore everyone needs to have a say in what kind of society they want to build and what kind of higher education they want to acquire.
Students and student representatives are core actors in higher education and contribute significantly to reforms at the local, national and international levels.
At the European level, ESU brings together 13.5 million students, represented by 47 national unions of students from 39 countries. These students bring forth policies and projects and decide on future steps in the development of higher education.
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